The Girl in the White Dress
by BritishObsessed
Summary: Their journey began as strangers on vacation and after being separated, they met again when he became her teacher and she was his student and from there their relationship flourished into something beautiful. Now it's 12 years later and they're not speaking to each other but through a little literary creation they may be able to find the love again and become stronger than ever.
1. Love At First Sight?

**This was an idea that I've been toying with for the past month and a half but I was finally able to get all the ideas and details together so here's the first chapter. I hope you like it!**

**Chapter 1: Love At First Sight?**

_It is better to have loved and lost, than not to love at all. _

_— Alfred, Lord Tennyson_

Present Day

Today was one of the few rainy days southern California and especially since it was the middle of June, that made the weather even stranger, but Olivia Pope was already out in the town when it started to rain and her business partner had been badgering her all week about reading some renowned book on personal finances, even though hers were pretty intact. But she wanted to get him off her back so she decided she would just pick the book up on her way home after grabbing some Chinese food, read about ten pages and then call it a night. This week had been more stressful than usual with the new changes they were making at work and Olivia was ready for her weekend off to begin.

She walks around inside the local Barnes & Noble, marveling at how much it's changed since the first time she set foot in it. It was the only one in her city since most books were now electronic and read on iPads and nooks, but she was one of the several thousands of people in the world that still preferred the tangibility of a book—it's texture, it's thickness, that great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when you hold a novel in your hands after finishing a great story—so in that way she would never adapt to the modern high-tech society.

In the front of the store, she spots a shelf full of the same book—_The Girl in the White Dress_. She's heard about the book since it's the latest buzz and knew that a film adaptation for it was coming out in about a month. She'd heard that it was a love story so she had automatically ruled it out since there were already enough of those out there and they were all the same in her eyes. Love in real life was nothing like it was made to be in the movies or novels because real life was not a fairytale. She looks around a little more and finds the book that she came for. She pays for it and heads towards the exit of the store but she looks back one more time at the shelf of _The Girl in the White Dress_ novels and wonders what's so great about the story that it has the whole nation going nuts. She decides to just take a peak. _Just the first few pages_, she tells herself. She opens the book and starts reading as the narrator, a 23 year old male, describes his trip in Hawaii. The writing immediately reels her in and the style strikes her as so familiar but she doesn't know why. She continues to read on, as the narrator comes into contact with a girl in a white dress, playing the 'love at first sight' card which turns her off a bit but she keeps reading. He describes in detail how well the white dress contrasts her skin complexion and how pure and angelic she appears. But as she reads the words she can feel one of her most poignant memories coming back to her, one that she had tried so hard to keep tucked away in a dark abyss of her mind, but every once in a while, more than often, it would creep its way back into her thoughts in a daydream when provoked by a small reminder or randomly in one of her nightly dreams. She's no longer able to block the memory and it comes flooding back to her in full.

12 years ago—2014

Olivia had had just about enough of her brothers, which is why she had left the hotel room and went to the lobby for peace instead. Olivia had always really wanted to visit Hawaii and she had finally gotten her wish with this vacation, but considering she came from a huge family of seven, with four brothers, her being the middle child and only girl, her father, and her stepmother, this trip to Hawaii was turning out to be less of a vacation and more of a circus act. Back at home in California, she had to deal with the zoo that was her family on a day-to-day basis with almost no break from the chaos. Olivia had been in the resort room's single little bedroom that had a twin bed and TV, both of which she luckily got all to herself, trying to read a book for school that all the AP students would be tested on the first day of class in September. But it hadn't even been five minutes before the constant banging on her closed door started, causing her to get up from her comfortable position on her bed and check it out, which ended up being a big mistake because as soon as she opened the door, her youngest 13 year old brother Xavier came hurdling towards her, landing on top of her as they both fell to the ground. He and the rest of her brothers had been playing another one of their stupid wrestling games. After giving them a piece of her mind and them giving her not-so-sorry apologies, she decided to leave for the afternoon and possibly the night. They had only been there for a day and after spending one night in a room with her brothers she knew there was no way in hell she would be able to do it for another six nights. She had asked her father if she could sleep on the couch in the hotel room he and Rebecca, her stepmother, would be staying in which was across the hall from the kids' room, but he told her no, saying that he wanted her to spend some time with her brothers since she almost never does, though she knows the real reason he said no was because he wanted to sex up Rebecca all night, something Olivia did not want to witness or hear.

Once she gets to the lobby, she heads towards the resort bar, needing a drink to calm her down. She takes a seat at one of the stools, ready to whip out her fake ID, that her friend Huck hooked her up with, and order something with rum in it but then she remembers that her family is only five floors above her and could come down at any minute. And though she knows that her brothers could probably careless, if her father found her drinking—_again_, especially in public, he would kill her. She sighs, becoming even more frustrated, not really wanting to drink a soda since she had been in the mood for something strong. She reluctantly just asks for some water and starts reading her book again, but five minutes in, she hears, "Can I buy you a drink?"

Olivia turns her head to her left to see the most beautiful human being she's ever laid her eyes on sitting just two seats away from her. He has the most perfect, wavy chocolate curls and the most precious stormy ocean blue eyes that seemed to bore holes into her soul. He has a strong jawline, curving his Greek godlike features and the slight stub growing around his mouth only added to his perfection. She could only imagine how he looked clean-shaven.

"Yeah…" Olivia says before she can remember that she decided she wasn't going to be drinking, but she's so overwhelmed by him that she can only say 'yes' to him. _It's just one drink and my family isn't coming down here anytime soon_, she tries to rationalize.

"What would you like?" He asks politely.

"Um, I'll take a raspberry mojito…please," she says shyly. He nods at the bartender who then rushes off to make the order.

He turns back to her and asks casually, leaning a little closer to her, "So are you here vacationing or are you here for something else?"

"Vacationing," she answers simply.

"Me, too. This is only my second day here so I haven't really gotten to explore the island but I have about a week here so I should be able to eventually. They have a lot to do around here." He has a silky, smooth, baritone voice that sends shivers down her spine and gives her butterflies in her stomach.

Olivia nods. "Yeah. I'll…be here for a week, too."

"Are you here alone?"

She shakes her head, fighting the urge to look into those hypnotic blue eyes of his. "Oh, uh…no. I'm here with my family. They're actually the precise reason I decided to hang out here in the first place. Being the only daughter in your family, you really never get used to having four brothers."

He chuckles. "Poor you. I have one brother and a sister so our household wasn't too chaotic. I can only imagine having four other siblings."

Olivia tries to stop picturing his smile in her head as she nods and turns back to her book, trying to seem aloof and send the message to him that she's uninterested, though she wants nothing more than to jump into his arms and have him hold and kiss her for hours on end. _How could he be affecting her like this?_ She didn't know why it was but she did know that even giving him the time of day would be a mistake since she assumed his goal, just like every other guy's, was to get her into a bed, use her up to his heart's content, and then kick her out at the end of it. She'd only had a few one night stands but had been left more broken and lonely every time and she was tired of falling for stupid tricks. But the guy sitting before her, seemed different. Yes, he had bought her a drink but he wasn't really flirting with her, not directly anyway, they were just having a normal conversation—or so it seemed.

"So, what are you reading? It's not a common sight to see someone reading a book at a bar," he says, putting his foot on the stool next to her as he leans even closer to her, making her even more nervous.

She shows him the cover wordlessly.

"To Kill A Mockingbird. One of my favorite classics. Are you liking it so far?

"Yeah…it's good, I guess." She sighs, deciding to cut this interaction short. She doesn't want to lead him on or waste his or her time. Besides, she had gotten a drink out of it so she was at least a little satisfied. She gets up, taking her glass and her book with her and letting him down hard to make sure he stays away, saying, "Thanks for the drink. I'm only 17, though."

She suppresses a smile at his baffled expression and walks through the door outside to the public pool area before he can say anything. The area isn't too crowded or noisy, with about ten or so people splashing around in the large pool and a few walking around. She takes a seat on one of the lounge chairs, plugs her earbuds in, starts a playlist and delves into her book again, trying to focus on the story and not the sexy guy she just left at the bar. _He looks too old for me, anyway_, she tries to convince herself. But not even two minutes go by before a tall shadow is hovering over her and that deep voice is saying, "Hey."

She looks up to see _him_ again. She was almost certain that he would leave her alone after she had not only walked away, showing him that she was uninterested, but had also told him that she was still a minor, so anything between them would be pretty much illegal. She sees his distraught and slightly angry expression and can't help but smile as she playfully responds, "Hey."

"Are you really 17?" He asks incredulously.

She shrugs, playing clueless to his concern. "Yeah. How old are you?"

"That's not important. Don't you know it's illegal for anyone under 21 to be drinking, especially in public? You could've told me."

"Well, you should've asked," she tells him, sipping her drink.

"You used me," he says, crossing his arms over his chest as the realization hits him.

"Did you expect anything in return?" she asks him in an equally accusatory tone.

He squints his eyes at her in confusion and she rolls his eyes as she continues, "Because if you didn't then I didn't use you, you just did something nice for me and I gladly accepted the gesture. You're the one who asked me if I wanted something to drink, remember?"

He sighs and shakes his head as he takes a seat in the lounge chair next to her and exhales. Olivia fights to keep her indifferent demeanor and her heart rate steady as he says, "You could've gotten me in trouble and that's something I can't afford right now."

The troubled expression on his face tells her that he's telling the truth but she just waves it off. "I think we're okay. As long as I'm not being a disturbance, I don't think anyone really gives a damn."

He nods slowly and they sit in silence for a while before he asks, "So, where are you from?"

She cocks an eyebrow at him. "You're really still continuing the getting-to-know-you game? Why?"

He shrugs. "Because I want to get to know you."

"You do realize how creepy that sounds. We just met each other literally four minutes ago. You're a stranger."

A slight smile appears on his face. "I'm being friendly and trying to have a nice conversation with you. That's all," he says. "And if you never want to see me again after this, you most likely won't. Hawaii's a big island."

She stares back at him and finds herself tongue tied as she gets lost in his eyes again. And this time she feels something—something that she's never felt or even thought existed before. It's as if she sees through him and she feels such an overwhelming sense of belonging in these eyes and sees everything she's ever wanted and hoped for in life and so much more. It's so fulfilling but at the same time it scares her. She finally looks away, shaking herself out of her daze as she remembers his question. "California."

"What?" he asks, seeming equally perplexed.

"You—you asked where I'm from. I'm from California."

"Oh, yeah…so am I. I haven't been there in a while but I was born and raised there."

She nods slowly and gets up. "I have to go."

She sees the saddest look on his face, making her instantly regret leaving but she knows that she can't stay with him there, not after what he just made her feel. "I'm sorry."

**So, what did you think of this first chapter? I have some great ideas in store for this story so tell me if you like it so far. Also check out my other story "Perfectly Aligned" if you haven't already. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Too Close

**I know it's been a while since I've posted but between school which just started this month and my current obsession with Grey's Anatomy (an AWESOME show that I should've started watching much earlier) and just life in general, it's been hard for me to find time to write, but I'm hoping to make the chapters in this story pretty short so that I can post faster. If you're wondering about my other story "Perfectly Aligned", trust me, I'm working on it and should have a new chapter out this week. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! (P.S. How excited are you all for S4 premiere this Thursday?!)**

Chapter 2: Too Close

"Hey, handsome!" Fitz looks in the direction of the call and sees two dudes and a girl standing by a volleyball net, staring at him. The girl, a brunette with a funky tie-dye bikini, winks at him and says, "We need an extra player on our side. You want in on one game?"

The two guys don't seem very happy about her asking but they keep quiet. After pondering it for a few seconds, Fitz agrees, "Okay."

He was already feeling pretty bored just hanging out on the beach and besides, maybe he could hook up with the brunette and forget about _the Girl_ who was constantly weaving her way in and out of his thoughts. The Girl with a capital g, was what he was calling her now since he had somehow missed getting her name.

He puts his stuff down and goes over to them, ignoring the guys who look less than impressed with him as he positions himself next to the brunette in front of the net. She grins brightly at him, flirtatiously saying, "Hey."

He flashes her a charming smile. "Hey."

He looks on the other side of the net and only sees two people. He wonders why the teams are unevenly distributed but his question is answered when he sees a perky blonde making her way over to them with none other than the Girl from the bar.

His mouth falls open at the sight of her in a turquoise bikini suit that illuminates her skin and shows off her beautiful body in all the right places. She not only has the beach-perfect body but he can also tell from her petite frame that she's very athletic from the little definition on her arms and the slight six-pack on her stomach. Her skin looks so soft and smooth and as he stands there gawking at her, he can't fight the image of him running his fingers and laying soft, sweet kisses all over that beautiful skin.

_Quit it, Fitz,_ he scolds himself, _you can't be thinking these things about her. She's just a kid_. An immature, snotty, rebellious kid who almost got him in some big trouble the day before. But even as he kept trying to tell himself this, he still can't tear his eyes away from her. It wasn't until she glanced over to the other side of the net and saw him staring back at her that he realized his eyes were still glued to her. She seems just as perplexed as him, her confident and loose demeanor now thrown off by his intense gaze. She's the first one to break eye contact when one of the girls on her team nudges her and whispers something to her with a mischievous smirk while side-eyeing Fitz. The Girl looks back at him with an uneasy smile and nodx in agreement with whatever the girl was saying. They finally look away from each other for good as they all get into position and one of the guys serves the ball, starting the game.

It was a pretty intense game with both sides giving it their all. He could tell that everyone playing probably played the game on a regular basis since they went almost a minute and a half without letting the ball touch the ground. The Girl was fairly impressive, putting in her share of work on her team, never slipping up, making Fitz wonder if she played, too. Fitz was actually playing pretty well also, doing his part on the team but the other guys were still giving him a hard time nonetheless if he would get in their way or let the ball slip. Fitz was starting to get fed up at their constant taunting but his anger only worsened when one of the guys nearly tripped him and said it was an accident. The only reasoning he could come up with as to why they were acting like such assholes was because of the tie-dye chick who they probably had a thing for and saw that he was getting in the way. Or maybe they were just flat-out assholes. Whatever the case, they were pissing Fitz off and his anger was starting to come out in his playing, but he immediately regrets his aggressiveness when he jumps up, delivering what he feels is the greatest spike ever, except the ball didn't hit the ground, it hit a face—_her_ face.

He hears the Girl cry out as the ball makes a loud slapping noise when it collides with her skin and he curses himself as he catches a glimpse of blood. "Nice going," one of the douchebags on his side mutters. Fitz glares at him but doesn't waste any more time as he bends down under the net and rushes towards her, along with her teammates who are repeatedly asking her if she's okay. She takes a seat on the sand, holding her hand to the cheek that made contact with the ball as she nods back to everyone in response.

Fitz stops about three feet in front of her, saying, "I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to do that."

She looks up at him but when she doesn't respond, he gets critical stares from everyone else.

"You do know you're supposed to spike the _sand_, not a face. Have you even played this game before?" Says a girl kneeling at _the_ Girl's side in one of the most annoyingly shrill voices Fitz has ever heard.

"It was an accident, and like I said I'm sorry." He turns back to the Girl who removes her hand from her cheek and scowls at the blood on her palm.

Fitz kneels down right in front of her and sighs. "I really am. I guess I just got carried away. That looks kind of bad but I can help you fix it up." She flinches away from him when he reaches towards her.

"Maybe you should just go. You've already done enough damage," the chick with the shrill voice says smartly, crossing her arms over her chest, not withholding any of her bitchiness.

Fitz shakes head, disregarding her and turns back to the Girl. "Please, just let me help you. Like I said earlier, you never have to see me again afterwards if you don't want to. Hawaii is a big island," he tells her, quoting what he said a few days earlier.

She continues to look up at him, frowning, but after several seconds more Fitz swears he sees a slight smirk cross her face and she subtly nods. He holds out his hand for her and she tentatively takes it. He relishes in the feeling of this small touch, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb across the top of her soft, tiny hand that fit in his like a glove. It was as if they're hands were made for each other.

As soon as he stands her up, she takes her hand out of his grasp, much to his discontent and after gathering their things, they leave the beach together.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

"I honestly don't know how you draw blood with a volleyball," the Girl says as she and Fitz sit at a table in the hotel's cafe. He had gotten a mini First Aid Kit from the guy currently manning the restaurant and since it was mostly empty at the moment, he decided to fix her up there.

"Here, turn your face a little more to the right," Fitz tells her as he dabs a little more antiseptic and then reaches for a Band-Aid.

She frowns at it and sighs as he peels the paper. "And now I'm going to have to wear that on my face. Great…"

"I'm sorry. You'll probably only have to wear it for a few days."

"Thanks for the prognosis, doc."

He grins, laying the Band-Aid across her cheek. "There's that snarky attitude."

She rolls her eyes but he manages to get a smile out of her. _Damn, she looks so beautiful when she smiles._

He shakes himself out of his thoughts when she raises a quizzical eyebrow at him. He clears his throat and says, "See, it's not too bad. That flawless face of yours should be back to perfection by the end of the week. I know that crap is important to teenage girls."

She feigns being offended as she tells him, "First of all, it's not crap. And secondly, I won't be a teenager for long. I'm turning 18 in a few months."

Fitz ponders this, just for a second getting his hopes up about actually having a shot with her, but then he remembers their age difference and knows that she probably wants someone around her own age. He nods. "Well, good for you. Anything else you need?"

"Mmm…I could use a drink, maybe a Blue Hawaiian?" She says with the utmost somberness.

Fitz shakes his head at her, giving her a look that says 'are you serious?' "Uhn uhn, we're not playing that again. You're too young to be drinking, remember?"

"Oh, please, like you're such a saint. I can totally imagine you passed out drunk off your ass at some frat party back when you were just a silly freshman in college. Am I right?" She asks, smirking because she knows the answer.

Fitz shakes his head regardless and then asks coyly, "Speaking of parties, I've been invited to one tonight so I was wondering if you wanted to come along. It's at the beach and I think tiki-themed. These two guys I met a few days ago told me about it, I thought I'd check it out so…do you wanna come?"

"I don't want to go to some stupid party, especially like this," she says, pointing to the Band-Aid on her cheek.

He sighs. "I'm really trying to be nice but right now you're being impossibly hard to please."

"What would really please me right now is a drink."

Fitz looks back at her, level-headed and decides to stand his ground, saying firmly, "No."

She raises her eyebrows at him. "_No?_"

"No. I am not going to keep feeding your bad drinking habits because you may think that it's innocent or makes you cool now but things will only get worse, believe me. So, I am going to go back to the bar and order you something age-appropriate whether you like it or not. Just stay right here."

He comes back a minute later with two bottles of Coca-Cola in his hands and gives her one, which she reluctantly takes, mumbling, "Thanks."

He smiles as she takes a sip. "You're welcome."

She suddenly looks away as if she's embarrassed, making Fitz feel like he did something wrong but then she says, "So…I thought about it and I think I'll take you up on your offer to go to that party—not because I really want to go but because I have nothing else to do tonight but hang out in my hotel room with my brothers and listen to them engage in some stupid burping contest."

He smirks. "It's really that bad, huh?"

She nods. "You have no idea."

"Well, the party is at Kauna 'oa Beach, starts as soon as the sun goes down. I can text you the exact location or pick you up—you know what? Never mind that sounds a little creepy," he says, inwardly chastising himself for saying that.

She chuckles at him. "Uh, it's okay. I'll just meet you there around at 8. You don't need to text me, if it's a party I'll find it."

"Oh. Well, okay…I guess I'll see you there. You sure you don't want me to get your number or have me give you mine? I don't know how big this thing will be and I want to be able to find you. Are you sure it's even okay with your parents?"

She rolls her eyes. "My parents could care less about what I do. And even if you gave me your number, if I called you you would have mine and I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that since I'm still deciding on whether or not to peg you as a creeper or just a really nice guy." She gives him another one of her trademark smiles. "Besides, in the 30 minutes that we've known each other, that is if you add the time up from yesterday and today, you've managed to buy me drinks, split my cheek open with a volleyball, clean up the wound, and you still don't even know what my name is."

Fitz fumbles with his words, wondering how he's letting some young girl baffle him, but whether he liked it or not, this cool, witty side of her utterly turned him on and as he stared back at her, trying to come up with something to say, he couldn't help but imagine the feeling of those incredibly soft-looking lips of hers on his with their bodies tightly pressed up against each other as he ran his hands all over her beautiful mocha skin, exploring every inch of her. _Man, this is so wrong…Maybe it was a bad idea to invite her to this thing._

He focuses his gaze down towards the ground, forcing himself to look away from those gorgeous brown doe eyes and says uneasily, "Well, I don't know, I guess it just didn't occur to me to ask."

Of course it had. He had spent hours the night before thinking of various names that he thought fit her but he hadn't really gotten much of a chance to ask her. Though, now that the topic was on the table, he thought this was the perfect opportunity to ask. "So, what is your name?"

She takes another sip of her drink, getting up from her seat. "Why don't I keep you guessing? I'll see you around 8—oh, and thanks for bandaging up my face. It was _very_ noble of you," she tells him, with what Fitz deems the sexiest of smiles as she walks out the door, her hips swaying from side to side. _This girl is going to be the death of me._

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Fitz shows up to the party about 20 minutes to eight, to do some socializing and get a layout of the party so that he knew different places to look for the Girl at, but it was already half an hour after 8 and he still hadn't even gotten a glimpse of her. And his searching wasn't made any easier by the dark and the crowd of dancing party people. He wishes he had gotten her number but just as he starts to worry that his searching efforts are all for nothing and that she skipped out on him, he spots her not too far away from the shore, talking to Tie-Dye Chick, who he had socialized with earlier and asked to look out for the Girl.

She looks absolutely stunning in casual, red maxi dress and her hair pinned up in a messy bun with a few curly strands running down her face. Fitz releases a sigh of gratitude as he makes his way over to them. He watches as the two of them continue to chat but is taken aback when the saddest look flashes across the Girl's face for a moment and then she quickly covers it up. He gets within hearing distance as she shrugs and says, "Oh. That's okay. I didn't even want to show up to this thing but…whatever, it's fine."

She whips around to come face-to-face with Fitz, who smiles her uneasily, still wondering what made her look so upset just a moment ago, but her expression changes from sad to outright confused as she stares back at him. She looks as if she's about to ask him something but instead she just shakes her head dismissively and walks off in a different direction.

"Wait, where are you going?" Fitz calls after her but she doesn't even turn around as her pace picks up.

Fitz gives Tie-Dye Chick a questioning glance and in response she just shrugs and says, "Maybe you should just leave her. Let's go dance."

But Fitz ignores her, not wasting any more time before he's following the Girl through the crowd. He maneuvers through, accidentally and purposely nudging people aside until there's more room. He jogs to catch up to her as they reach the edge of the beach, stopping in front of her when he finally reaches her.

"What happened back there?" he asks. She tries to side-step him but he just steps right in front of her each time.

"Move out of my way," she says irritably.

"First just tell me what's going on."

"No, I wouldn't want to keep you from your date," she tells him, not holding back any malice.

"My date? You mean Tie-Dye Chick—I mean, the girl you were just talking to?" Fitz asks, remembering that he's the only one who calls her that. "She's not my date. I'm not with her."

"No, not her, but I saw you earlier with some other girl and Tie-Dye Chick or whatever you call her told me that you were with that girl and that you guys were all over each other, so excuse me, I don't want to keep you any longer."

Fitz doesn't quite understand what he hears in her voice—she was either just upset that he didn't find her earlier or...was she possibly jealous? He steps in front of her again as she tries to get away. "And you believed her?"

"Well, I saw you with the other girl when I first got here but then I lost you, so then I run into Tie-Dye Chick and she tells me that you guys went off together." Fitz ponders what she's saying for a second and puts two and two together.

"I wasn't with that other girl earlier, I was just being polite and social but Tie-Dye Chick is the one who blew it out of proportion…I have a feeling she did it on purpose," Fitz says, thinking about how flirty she had been with him. At first he had flirted back because he wanted to get laid but since seeing this Girl earlier that day, Tie-Dye Chick was the last thing on him mind.

"On purpose? She thought…she lied because she thought that I had a thing for you," she says, coming to the realization. Fitz searches for something in her eyes but he can't read her expression. She scoffs, looking away from him and mumbles, "Bitch."

"Yeah, I know," Fitz agrees.

"We were just coming to this thing as friends—well, sort of, I still don't really know you well enough to call you a friend but you're pretty alright, I guess." Fitz smirks at this and she returns the gesture, making Fitz glad that she's not pissed at him anymore.

"Well, thanks. Um, do you wanna go back or…we could do something else or I could just take you back to your hotel maybe."

She cringes at the last suggestion. "Mmm, let's do something else. Do you know any cool spots?"

He shrugs. "There's this nice restaurant with music and dancing not too far away. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually I kind of am."

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

They take his car and within fifteen minutes they're at the restaurant, which is only a few minutes from the hotel. The two of them order burgers and fries though Fitz notices that she's eaten almost all of her fries but hasn't touched her burger yet. "I thought you said you were hungry."

"I am, I'm just not hungry for this. I'm a vegetarian."

He raises his eyebrows at her. "Ah, so you're one of _those_ people."

She crosses her arms over her chest, smiling. "'One of those people'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a meat-hater. I bet you show up in forests around hunting season and take a bullet for the animals, am I right?"

She glares at him. "Shut up. You're such an ass, you know that?" she tries to say as firmly as possible, but in the end they both end up cracking up. Fitz takes notice of her genuine laugh and thinks of it as quite possibly the best sound he's ever heard in his life. He loved how care-free she sounded and looked and that perfect gleam of joy that glossed her eyes. She was making it so difficult not to want her.

"I am not an extremist—I mean, yeah, I love animals and I don't like hearing about them being shot up but I went the veggie way more for myself than the animals—that's all I'm going to say."

"Alright, whatever you say. I'll try not to offend you with my meat-loving tendencies, though," he says, popping the last bit of his burger in his mouth. She rolls her eyes at him, stealing a fry off his plate.

They sit quietly and comfortably for about ten minutes, listening to the music playing throughout the room and watching the people dance, occasionally stealing nervous glances at each other. He watches her as she drifts off into her thoughts with a small fixed smile on her face and sways to some 80's song that he sort of recognizes.

Before he knows what he's doing, he asks, "Do you wanna dance?"

She looks back at him, truly shocked and he immediately regrets what he said. "You know what, forget it. Sorry…"

"No, it's okay." She shrugs. "Sure, let's dance."

He nods, wondering how one girl he just met had the power to make him feel so awkward. He knew he was a stud and he's been charming his way through life since he was a toddler. Other women became awkward around _him_, not the other way around, but that seemed to be the case here and he didn't know what it meant. He felt in his gut that there was something wrong with what he was doing but at the same time it just felt so right.

The song she was into ends as Journey's "Faithfully" begins to play.

"I love this song," she murmurs as they stand on the dance floor cumbersomely, not knowing how to position themselves. After a few more uncomfortable seconds, she sighs with a smile and says, "Are you really this awkward with every girl you dance with."

She comes closer to him and quickly links her hands around his neck, causing Fitz's heart to beat out of his chest. He takes in her sweet vanilla flower scent as his skin becomes electrified with every second he feels her touch. He gently settles his hands on her waist and they begin to sway to the music, first rigidly but as he gradually starts to calm down and gain confidence, he tightens his hold on her waist and pulls her closer to him, feeling the need to have her nearer. He senses her relaxing as well and they finally make eye contact as he gazes up.

There it was again—that connection he felt the day they met. It was in those eyes that he felt belonging and identity and uttermost peace. He never knew that such a wonderful feeling could exist. It felt better than all the sex he had had in his life combined. It made him feel infinite.

He goes on auto-pilot again as he wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her even closer and takes his other hand to her good cheek, grazing her incredibly soft skin with his thumb. He glances down at her full, luscious lips and takes the plunge.

Their lips barely brush when she forcefully pulls back, disconnecting them both physically and emotionally. She stares back at him with an utterly terrified look and then glances back at their table to see her phone flashing and closes her eyes momentarily, letting out a sigh of relief. _Saved by the ring._

She goes back towards the table, picking up her phone, and walking to a quieter space in the room. Fitz looks away from her, chastising himself for what he did. She comes back over to him, avoiding eye contact and says, "I have to go. That was my dad."

He nods slowly. "Do you need me to—?"

"No, it's fine. Back to the hotel is just a ten-minute walk. I'll be fine."

He nods again and after another uncomfortable moment, she whips around and walks out of the door into the night. Fitz exhales as some of the tension leaves his body but he knows he'll need a little more help to get rid of it all.

He walks over to the bar and says to the guy behind the counter. "Something with tequila in it, please."

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Present—2026

Olivia releases the book, letting it drop to the floor as if it's poison. How is this possible? How was this story—how could the person who wrote this story know all these details? The things being said in this novel were memories that she had locked up in the darkest holes of her mind for years and now they were being evoked in just a matter of minutes by...She sighs and tentatively picks up the book, flipping it around to front. She scans the cover and her eyes widen at what she sees.

**Well, I hope that you liked this chapter. Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger like that. How do you feel about Olitz's progression? Do you think Fitz is making a mistake by continuing to chase after Olivia? What do you think Olivia sees on the front cover? Other thoughts? Please tell and thanks for reading!**


	3. Can You Tell?

**Chapter 3: Can You Tell?**

**Here we are we chapter 3. This one won't take place where I left off with chapter 2 but I promise I will get back to that later. Anyway, enjoy!**

_Oh, have I been too discreet?  
>How long am I supposed to wait?<br>I think about you nightly  
>Oh, can you tell I'm losing sleep? Oh, what am I supposed to do?<br>It's hard to stay cool  
>Oh, when you smile at me<br>And I get nervous every time you speak_

_—Can You Tell by Ra Ra Riot_

Olivia found herself lying awake at night, thinking about him—his smile, his great wavy chocolate curls, those stormy blue eyes, the way he made her feel all warm inside just at the sight of him, the way he seemed to look out for her, the way he made her feel like she was the most important girl in the room just by how he looked at her. He gave her the feeling of belonging and satisfaction that she had been craving for so long. He made her feel alive. He was perfect to her but probably not for her. For one, he was too old for her. He looked somewhere around 23-25 years old and maybe that would be fine if she was eighteen and already in college but she was still 17 and a beginning senior in high school—no one would take them seriously. There was also the possibility that they would never see each other ever again after Hawaii so she would hate to get too attached to him. And besides, even if they did see each other again and a relationship between them could be appropriate, it wouldn't work because he only liked the sarcastic, snarky, tough chick side of her—he didn't know the real, troubled, broken, and pathetic side and she knew that as soon as he saw it, he would run in the other direction. She releases a long, frustrated sigh and flips over onto her side, wishing that life wasn't always so hard and unfair.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Early the next morning before her brothers, her Dad, or Rebecca wake up, Olivia dresses in some shorts, a sports bra, and a light jacket along with her Nike's and iPod and sets out for a morning run. Hawaii hadn't stopped her from continuing her daily runs and this way she got to jog right by the ocean. Besides, a run was just what she needed to clear her head and try to push these thoughts about Blue-eyed McDreamy away.

The first twenty minutes of her workout are great—the sun is a little ways above the horizon, the breeze by the shore is just right, and the ocean air gives the most fulfilling feeling to her lungs. She smiles to herself but the grin is wiped off of her face as soon as she glances to her right and sees none other than Blue-eyed McDreamy running in pace with her.

"What the—!" She puts the brakes on and after jogging a little ways, he stops also, looking back at her.

She rips her earbuds out with the music still playing and exclaims, "What are you doing here?" She wouldn't have been as freaked out if some stranger had spooked her, especially since she wasn't the only one running by the shore, but the fact that the person just so happened to be the same guy who had been weaving his way in and out of her thoughts since the day they met and especially after their almost-kiss, she was even more on edge.

He gives her a crooked smile. "Hi. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was trying to actually do the opposite but…I guess I failed."

She looks back at him, taking in the sight of his damp chocolate curls sticking to his sweaty forehead and the size of his well-toned arms in a shirt that was messily cut into a muscle shirt. She never thought that sweat could look so sexy as she stares at it glistening off of his muscular physique, making him look even more divine. She tears her eyes away from him so that her mind can at least formulate a coherent thought.

"Um, it's okay…" She tells him absentmindedly.

He smiles again but an uncertain look comes over his face as he reaches behind his head and rubs the nape of his neck, a movement that makes Olivia bite her lip in desire. "I also just wanted to say that I'm sorry for last night. I was…out of line and I shouldn't have taken advantage of our position like that."

Olivia thinks over his words, knowing that she should just accept his apology and say goodbye for good, but for some odd reason she doesn't want to. When she was around him, he didn't make her feel like some other ordinary chick, with him she felt magic. She felt such a deep level of contentment but at the same time having such a quick connection with someone scared her, which is why she hadn't allowed their lips to connect the night before. But it seemed that every time she ran into him, she was becoming more and more comfortable around him and even though currently the air around them was awkward, she felt the strange desire to stay. _ It's not like I'm going to see him ever again once this trip is over—might as well get the most out of it_, she rationalizes.

She smirks. "Yeah, well, it wasn't a big deal. It was just the alcohol."

"Except I wasn't drinking any alcohol, well, at least not until after you left."

"Right…you're trying to be a good role model towards me or something," she says mockingly.

"Yeah, something like that," he says, chuckling nervously. "So, does this mean we're okay?" He looks up her cautiously with a hopeful gleam in his eyes that makes her heart melt because no guy has ever acted so sweetly timid way towards her.

She smiles and says genuinely, "Yeah, we're cool."

He flashes her his award-winning grin and to keep the air from getting uncomfortable again, she asks, "So, do you want to jog together? I still have about a mile left."

He nods. "I think I still have a mile left in me."

And they take off together. Over the course of the next two days, Olivia finds her spending a large amount of time with Blue-eyed McDreamy. They start out each day by running by the beach and then having breakfast at a nearby pastry shop that he found. After breakfast, they part their ways and go back to their hotels to shower and get dressed and agree to meet up again later when Olivia isn't being forced to do things with her family which just so happened to be the worst part of the vacation. She had tried to be optimistic, something Blue-eyed McDreamy had told her to do, but in the end she just became as miserable as she predicted she would be. Olivia's father had signed the whole family up for _everything_—surfing, kayaking, boating, jet skiing, fishing, windsurfing, and the most random of all, bingo—one day they did a whole two hours of freakin' bingo!

The third day, the 4th of July, after a run with Blue-eyed McDreamy, the two continue they're routine, eating breakfast at the pastry diner.

"This is the third day in a row that I've had such a sweet breakfast. You, mystery man, are not good for me," Olivia tells him as she pops a syrup-covered strawberry into her mouth.

He smiles at her name for him and says, "Come on, we _deserve_ this breakfast. I can't believe that you run five miles daily."

"Actually, I don't," she tells him before she can stop herself. Back at home in California, she normally went three or four miles but she had decided to increase the distance because, no matter how much she tried to deny it, she really did enjoy spending time with him and she wanted to prolong their time together as much as she could. In just the few days they had spent together, Olivia had genuinely smiled more than she has in probably the last year—just because of him.

"You don't?"

"Well, not really. I guess I just like the terrain here," she says nonchalantly. He nods as he cuts into his pancakes.

"Well, I hate running but I do it anyways."

"Why do you hate it?"

He smirks mischievously at her. "Tell me what your name is first and I'll tell you," he says, winking at her.

She leans towards him. "Mmm, see, I don't deem that as a very fair trade."

"Oh, really now? You sure you don't want to learn my innermost dark secret?" He teases.

"That is _so_ not your innermost dark secret, because if it were you wouldn't have even mentioned it. You would've tried to avoid it as much as possible in all conversation."

"Sounds like you speak from experience. Care to share?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Are you going to eat your hash browns? I'm so hungry." She doesn't wait for his reply and goes for the hash browns since, knowing that he'll be fine with it.

He glances at her already finished plate and raises his eyebrows. "Wow, such a small body but such a large appetite."

She glares at him. "Be quiet. I'm paying, anyway, so I can eat whatever and as much as I want."

He frowns at this. "You are _not_ paying. That wouldn't be chivalrous of me at all."

"But it wouldn't be so sexist of you either."

He gives her a look.

Olivia sighs, feeling like this has already been blown out of proportion. "Just let me pay—please. You've paid for everything else so far."

"Because I don't mind it and I want to."

"Yeah, I want to, also."

"How about we decide on this when we leave?" Olivia nods in agreement even though she knows that as soon as they're finished he's going to rush to pay but she has an idea to avoid that.

Ten minutes later, they get up and as she predicted, he hurries to the counter to pay for the food but right as he's about to whip out his wallet, she says in a worried tone, "Oh, shoot, I can't find my phone. I think I left it at the table. Could you check to see if it's there?"

"Of course." He goes to the table and after searching for a few seconds, he tells her that it's not there. Olivia smiles triumphantly after paying the lady behind the counter and goes over to him, hooking her arm through his and ushering him out of the diner. That's when he realizes that she tricked him and he vows to get her back for it later.

"So, I was thinking that we should go to the big 4th of July celebration at Kauna 'oa Beach. I heard they have the best fireworks."

She smiles. "I heard that, too, and I would love to go with you, as long as my dad isn't planning anything." As soon as she says that, her phone starts ringing. "Speaking of the devil."

He asks her where she is but since she can't come up with a good enough reason to avoid him, he tells her to get back to the hotel so that they can do some more "fun" family activities together.

"I am so tired of these family activities," she tells mystery man once she hangs up.

"I know, love, but stay positive." She chuckles at his new name for her and agrees to stay positive. They take a cab back to the hotel and after agreeing to meet in front of the entrance to the hotel at 8:30, they part ways.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

After another day of activities with her family, Olivia is again completely exhausted and can't wait to be with Blue-eyed McDreamy in the evening. She was sure to behave and at least try and act like she was in a good mood throughout the day and her somewhat good attitude paid off because her dad let her go out for the night, as long as she was back by midnight and periodically texted him to tell him that she was okay. She starts to get ready around 6 o' clock, spending almost 45 minutes deliberating about what she should wear before she decides on an elegant, light peach romper with some matching slip-on shoes. She spends the next hour and a half on make-up and her hair, going light on the make-up and pressing her hair into loose curls a little past her shoulders. She quickly sneaks out her hotel room before her brothers can ask her too many questions or tease her and when she makes her way out to the front of the hotel at 8:30, she sees mystery man, sitting patiently.

She's somewhat surprised that he's there right on the dot and this makes her even happier to see that he cared enough to not keep her waiting. Though when she sees him in only board shorts and a white v-neck, she feels like she may have overdressed just a bit. She seriously contemplates turning back and quickly putting something even more casual on but before she can even take a step back, he glances in her direction and sprouts right up at the sight of her. He looks at her with a stunned expression as his mouth hangs open in speechlessness. _Do I really look that good?_

He walks up to her and stutters a bit before saying, "You look…amazing."

She can't help but blush under his gaze but she shrugs, trying to play it off. "Thanks."

Though he doesn't budge so easily. "Seriously, I am a really lucky guy tonight," he says, keeping that dazed look in his eyes.

She chuckles, looking away from him, trying to hide her nervousness away from his intense stare. "Um, are you ready to go?"

He grins confidently at her. "Definitely."

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

They walk for about ten minutes to the beach which is already filled to the brim with people camped out on the sand, towels, and blankets as they wait eagerly for the show to start. Olivia and mystery man pick a spot at the very back of the beach that isn't too crowded and he zips open his bag, whipping out a blanket. They lay the blanket down and fix themselves comfortable on top. They both lean against a nearby tree, only inches away from each other, giving Olivia an exhilarating feeling every time his knee brushes against hers.

They look up as explosions of colors fill the night sky and they both whip out their phones to take pictures and videos. "This is perfect," Olivia says, meaning every word.

"Not quite yet, actually," mystery man says with a mischievous smile. He reaches for his bag and pulls out a bag of potato chips, a veggie tray, and two bottles of Snapple.

"This night would not be complete without some good food. I also made sure to include some healthy food—it's important to eat your greens. Never forget that," he says with mock seriousness. She laughs at this and they get cracking on the food.

As they're munching, instead of looking up at the fireworks, Olivia notices Blue-eyed McDreamy looking at _her_. She glances at him, wondering what he's thinking as he stares at her with an expression she can't read.

"What?" she asks softly.

He smiles warmly at her and reaches towards her cheek with the same hand that he's holding a carrot in and flicks at her skin. "You had an eyelash on your cheek."

"So you took it off with a carrot?" She questions, putting her hand to her cheek because she feels something weird there and sure enough, she feels a blob of ranch.

"Hey…" she starts complaining but smirks at him. "I see what you did there."

He nods with the cutest grin. "Payback for tricking me earlier at that pastry place."

"Fine, we're even now," she says, wiping the ranch off her face.

"But really, you do have an eyelash, right…here." He swipes it off, right below her eye with his thumb, but he lets his hand linger on her skin as he looks straight into her eyes. Olivia feels a tingle on the area he's touching on her face and fights to keep her breathing even as she feels herself growing nervous again under his gaze. He lets his hand rest comfortably on her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her skin and without realizing it, Olivia nuzzles her face into his hand, giving into his touch. She feels him leaning closer to her as his eyes now begin to flicker between hers and her mouth until he finally takes the plunge.

She lets his lips crash down on hers as she stays utterly still, not knowing how to react. She feels him starting to pull back after a few seconds of her unresponsiveness but before he can she gently bites down on his lower lip, guiding him back to her. They slowly exchange sweet kisses, lightly nipping on each other's bottom lips with every back-and-forth motion. With every brush of their lips, Olivia feels that great spark that keeps her going back for more. Sure, she had been kissed before but this was different—it was so amazingly different with him. She never knew such a wonderful feeling could exist. It felt better than any of the sex she had had in her life combined. It made her feel infinite. He made her feel infinite.

They pull apart after what feels like forever but keep their faces only an inch apart so that their noses are still slightly brushing and their foreheads are leaning into each other. She feels him smile and she timidly returns the gesture.

He takes her cheeks in his hands. "_You are so beautiful_," he whispers against her lips. She blushes, trying to contain the fluttering in her stomach. Never in her life had she felt so much love in a such a simple statement but how could it be when she barely knew this man? She doesn't know but she doesn't care. All she wants to do is focus on the here and now.

She keeps her gaze focused on his electric blue eyes and she's again robbed of any coherent thought. The only thing she can think of is her desire for him in that moment. With no other thought in mind, she softly tells him, "Kiss me again."

He wastes no time connecting their unsatisfied mouths again, this time coming at her more aggressively, causing her to moan into his mouth as the kisses start to turn more slow and sensual and he slides his tongue out and asks for access to hers, which she immediately gives him, their tongues vigorously battling each other for dominance. She hooks her hands around his neck, creeping her fingers into his wavy hair and runs her fingers through his curls. He takes his hands off her face and positions them on her waist, pulling her closer to him, comfortably onto his lap.

They continue their make-out session until both of their mouths are sore and then they reluctantly pull apart. Olivia snuggles her face into his chest, curling more into him. After slight hesitation, he slides his arms around her, holding her even closer. She hears him whispers something unintelligible into her hair and feels him caress the edge of her hairline. She doesn't feel the awkwardness that she expected would come after their kiss but only absolute peace and happiness. In this moment, it's as if they belong like this—with her curled up against him and him holding her tightly in his arms as they gaze up at the sky and watch the fireworks exploding over the ocean.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

They take their time strolling hand-in-hand back to the hotel, deciding to leave the beach before all the crowds did.

"So are you going to ever give me your number?" He asks her.

Olivia smirks, asking coolly, "Why do you want my number so badly?"

"_Because_ I'm taking you out on a late picnic lunch on the beach tomorrow…if you're up for it." She smiles to herself but doesn't say anything to him, so he takes this as a 'yes'. "And…"

"And what?" She asks flirtatiously. "Just because we kissed doesn't mean you know me. We're still strangers, remember?" She tells him, still trying to play hard to get to see his reaction.

"Oh, come on…"

"You still don't even know my name," she points out.

"Because you won't tell me what it is."

"You haven't told me yours yet."

"Fitz," he says simply. "Fitzgerald is the whole name, but I go by Fitz."

"Hmm…_Fitzgerald_. If you don't mind me asking, who in the 21st century in America names their kid Fitzgerald?"

"First of all, I was born in 1991 so technically I'm a 20th century kid, and secondly, it's a family name. I'm the third."

Olivia chuckles at this. "So, you're _Fitzgerald the third_," she says in an overly-dramatic voice, making him laugh. "How grand-sounding. I like it," she says, winking at him.

"I'm glad you find my name amusing. Care to share yours?" He says, not letting her go so easily.

She deliberates for a second before saying, "I'll tell you tomorrow. At this picnic thing—I promise."

He nods satisfactorily. "I'm going to hold you to that promise. So, I was thinking about 2 o' clock for the picnic lunch. I thought that Makalawena Beach would be really nice and it's pretty close to the hotel, but if you want, I can pick you up."

"No, it's alright. I can get there on my own." It wasn't that she had a problem with him picking her up but she really just didn't want to take the chance of her dad seeing her getting into some guy's car and then not only stopping her from going with Fitz but embarrassing her in front of him. He already made her feel enough like a child. "Do you want me to bring anything?"

"Nope, just bring your beautiful self," he says with a wink. Her cheeks flush at his word choice even though she tries to hide it. _Does he really think I'm beautiful?_

"Um, okay. So, I'll see you tomorrow at 2," she says as they come to a stop at the west entrance to the hotel. She pauses because she's not sure how to properly say goodbye to him. Should she kiss him goodnight? Would that be appropriate? She didn't want to embarrass herself. What if that kiss back at the beach had only happened because they were sitting so close to each other and at the time it felt right? What if he didn't really—

Before she can think about it any further, his lips are on hers in an instant. The connection is light as a feather and only lasts for a few seconds but it's enough to put all of her worries and doubts to rest. He pulls back, giving her the sweetest of smiles. "Goodnight, mystery girl. Try not to fill your head with too much overthinking. You're much better without it."

He let's go of her hand and continues down the street towards the west entrance where his room is. Olivia can hardly keep herself from smiling like a fool as she watches him walk away. "Goodnight, Fitz."

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Olivia wakes up the following morning having had the best sleep of her life. She remembers the night before and the endless dreams she had of Fitz as she slept and again wonders how one person, one stranger can have such a hold on her. She sits up in her bed and smiles, reimagining the feeling of his perfect lips against hers and the sweet taste of his mouth. She replays his words in her head when he called her 'beautiful'. She reminisces about the feeling of his strong arms around her, holding her closely to him and his wonderful scent that she will never forget.

Though, her heart and her mind struggle against each other, since her heart wants to let her fall into the abyss of love but her mind wants her to hold onto her pride and keep her armor on so that she doesn't get hurt again. She was gushing over him like some inexperienced little girl does with her first crush, but she was inexperienced. She had never even had a boyfriend before, she had just slept around a few times with some guys that she thought she liked, but in the end they turned out to be jerks and had made her feel worse about herself every time she let them use her. But she just knew that Fitz wasn't like that. He was different. They had known each other for about a week and by now, if it had been any other guy, he would've gotten her to into bed or at least tried to take her back to his hotel. But Fitz was being careful and gentle, he wasn't trying to push her into doing anything. He had treated her like a person instead of an object and had been a gentleman about everything. And he seemed to actually care for her. Who was this perfect man who had somehow wove his way into her heart?

She continues to daydream about Fitz until she gets a knock on her door.

"Hey, Liv, open the door! We need to leave! It's already 10 o' clock!" Yells a voice that sounds like her 15 year-old brother Matthew through the door.

"I'm not going anywhere with you guys, not after what happened yesterday!" She calls back, remembering an embarrassing windsurfing mishap.

"Cut the crap, Liv! Dad is already getting pissed because he thinks we're running late for the plane flight."

"Plane flight? What the hell are you talking about? We're leaving tomorrow," Olivia yells back assuredly but in her mind she feels a little doubt. They had to be leaving tomorrow—that's what their dad had said.

"Not anymore. Dad had to cut the trip a day short to handle some things at work so we are leaving _now_. Maybe if you had actually hung out with us on this vacation you would've known." She hears him walk away from the door but she still refuses to believe what he's saying. She gets up from her bed and opens the door to see the boys' area, which had looked like a World War II battleground just the night before turned into the spic-and-span hotel room it was before.

She watches as her oldest brother Sammy packs the last of his stuff into his suitcase and starts to wheel it out of the room. But Olivia stops him before he can exit.

"Sammy, please tell me that we're not leaving Hawaii today," she says with a pleading look in her eyes.

He just shrugs and nods. "Yeah, we are. Our flight leaves in an hour and a half. I thought you'd be happy to leave, though. You acted miserable the whole time even though Hawaii was your idea," he says indignantly and moves past her.

"What the hell?" She mutters to herself. How could they be leaving today? She couldn't leave just yet. She still had her date with Fitz that afternoon. How was she going to tell him that she couldn't make it? She had been such a dumbass for not getting his number and now she was kicking herself for it. What if she didn't get to say goodbye and she never saw him again?

She goes back into her room, switching out her pajama bottoms for some jean shorts and then rushes to the elevators, praying on her way down to the lobby that she can find him before it's too late. As soon as she reaches the bottom floor, she hurries to the check-in desk, accidentally pushing a woman out of her way.

"Excuse me," she says to the guy behind the counter. "I need to know where someone's room is in this hotel. I'm also a guest, but I just really, really need to know his room number. His name is Fitzgerald, I don't know his last name but how many 'Fitzgerald's could you really have?"

The guy with a name card that reads 'Phil' gives her a less than impressed look like he's dealt with way too many frantic guests on this job already and answers in a calm voice, "I'm sorry, ma'am but we are not allowed to disclose any of our guests personal information, including room numbers, to anyone except for the feds."

"Please!" Olivia begs. "I'm leaving for California in an hour and a half and I may never get to see him again. I need to talk to him now!"

He gives her a somewhat sympathetic look but just shrugs. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."

Olivia lets out a frustrated groan as she walks away from the counter and tries to think of another step. She remembers that she even missed their morning run. Why hadn't her phone woken her up?

She makes a last ditch effort to find him by running around the inside and outside of the hotel, searching everywhere her eyes can see but after fifteen minutes of looking, she still has no luck. She makes her way back to the lobby and collapses on one of the couches, feeling more exhausted from her worrying than the actual running around.

"Olivia, what are you doing?" She turns around to see her dad looking undeniably annoyed. "You haven't brought down any of your bags yet, what's going on?"

Olivia sighs as she gets up and mumbles, "Nothing."

Eli shakes his head dismissively at her. "I don't know what's bothering you today but you better gather your things and be back down here with your bags in the cab within the next thirty minutes. We will _not_ be missing this flight, Olivia. Return this to the check-in desk when you're finished," he tells her, handing her the key card to the room she and her brothers shared.

"Fine," she mutters, taking the card and heading back upstairs.

They end up leaving right on time for everything. Olivia is able to pack up her stuff within the half hour, the family arrives at the airport 15 minutes later, and by 11:30 they're on a plane back to California. Olivia luckily didn't have to sit next to anyone but for extra measure, she plugs in her earbuds and turns her music up high to drown out any outside sounds and her inner worries but the music doesn't help with the latter. _Poor Fitz and idiotic me_. Now he was going to be waiting for her alone on the beach with a nice, romantic meal laid out for them waiting for her like some poor sap and after waiting for way too long, he'll figure that she stood him up when she wanted nothing more than to spend the whole day with him. Now it was all blown to shreds.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

He didn't realize he had wound up at the same restaurant he and mystery girl had danced at together but by time Fitz had gotten his drink, it was too late to leave. He had poured over reason after reason as to why she didn't show up. At first when she wasn't there for their morning run, he had thought it was because she wanted to sleep in or maybe she had gotten caught up with her family but when she was still M.I.A. that afternoon, he knew something was wrong—was she okay? Had she gotten hurt? Was she not able to make it for some understandable reason? Or had she just blown him off because she knew that they never had to see each other again if she didn't want to?—He didn't know and he was tired of thinking about it. Whatever the reason, he knew that he wouldn't see her again, not at least any time soon. He had been hoping that he could at least get her number so that they could stay in touch no matter where they were but even after they had shared a kiss and planned a date she still refused to give him her number and her name, which she was supposed to reveal to him at their date. At first he had thought her playing-hard-to-getness was cute, but now he was upset at her for it and angry at himself for not pushing harder. She was the first girl in a long time that had made him feel something and the first girl overall that he had actually felt bonded to in some strange, out-of-this-world way. But now she was gone and that hollow feeling in his heart he had felt before meeting her was now magnified by ten and he didn't see it going away any time soon. All he could do was say a silent wish that he hoped would reach her. _Please find me again, mystery girl, we can't be done yet._

**So, what did you think of this chapter? Will Olitz find their way back to each other sooner or later? Will they be able to create a good relationship if they do see each other again? Other thoughts? Thanks for reading!**


	4. Expect the Unexpected

**So, I had a little extra time on my hands and decided to see if I could write another chapter so I did. 2 chapters in one day! I wanted to just tell you right now that this story will spend a lot of time in the past before it gets to the present with a few present moments in between, so don't expect to see 2026 Fitz and Olivia too much just yet. Also, you will see that this chapter takes place 2 months after the events of chapter 3 and that things might be a little more different than you hoped, but our couple will find their way to each other eventually ; ). Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: Expect the Unexpected**

Fitz wakes up to the September sun shining in his face through his window and his alarm blaring out one of his favorite songs and as soon as he comes to, he lets out an annoyed groan as he remembers what day it is. He climbs out of his mess of sheets and sees a black bra on the floor. He guesses that whatever her name is from the bar must've left during the night or in the early morning, which he's grateful for because for some reason the last couple of girls had had a hard time leaving when need be. He heads to the bathroom, taking in his extra disheveled appearance in the mirror and curses Harrison, his adoptive brother, for convincing him to go clubbing the night before one of the most important days of his life.

He takes a shower, switching between hot and cold water to help him get out of his groggy hungover state. He puts on a blue dress shirt with some beige trousers and a pair of leather shoes. He had always been more of a t-shirt and jeans guy but his new job required otherwise.

He's in his kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal when he gets a call from Harrison. "Good morning, Fitzy!" he greets in a chipper tone.

"You're a son of a bitch," Fitz tells him, partially meaning it.

"Come on, bro, getting ready for the worst day of your life can't really be that bad."

"Well, maybe it wouldn't suck so much if I wasn't still half hungover," Fitz says, hanging his throbbing head in his hands.

He hears Harrison laugh on the other end, making Fitz wish he was there so that he could punch his guts out. "Speaking of that, was your girl any good? With the way she was working it on that dance floor, she was probably super freaky in bed, too," Harrison says, not even trying to hide the giddiness in his voice.

"Uh…yeah, man, super freaky. I hit that so hard," Fitz says, telling Harrison what he wants to hear. Honestly, he didn't even remember the night before. He never did. For the past two months he had been getting himself blackout drunk at every bar so that when he got laid, he would feel the satisfaction in the heat of the moment but he didn't want to remember anything the next morning. He didn't even want to remember the faces of the girls he slept with. He just wanted the sex because it made him feel better. During sex, he was able to temporarily forget about the love he left in Hawaii two months ago.

"That's what I like to hear. Well, I gotta go. Mom is having an early morning pie-crusting crisis and she needs me."

"Alright, see ya. And wish me luck."

"Yeah, you're gonna need it for dealing with those snotty kids. If they're anything like how I was in high school, you are in trouble."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Bye."

"Bye, teach!"

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

"Matt, hurry the hell up! Last time I saw you, you weren't a girl so why are you spending an hour in the bathroom?" Olivia yells to her brother from downstairs in the kitchen. They were running late already and Olivia didn't want to get a tardy on her first day back.

"Really, Dad, we need to go. I don't want to be late either," says her brother Simon, the only one out of the sausage clan that she actually got along with. Maybe it was the fact that they were twins and understood each on some weird molecular level or maybe it was because he just wasn't like her other three brothers. While they were loud, obnoxious, dumbass jerks in her book, Simon was reserved, super intelligent, wise beyond his years, and he just understood certain things. However, he was incredibly socially inept and a bit of a dork which sometimes made him an easy target for bullies but since he was such a sweetheart most people stood up for him, the first of them being her.

"Matt, come on!" Their dad yells, agreeing with her and Simon. "You're making your brother and sister late and I still have to drop Xavier off at the junior high but I want to make sure you're all out of here first."

"Screw them!" Matthew yells back. "They can wait."

Eli's face twists into an angry expression. "Watch the language, Matt. If you're not down here in five minutes, I'm letting them leave without you."

"You know, technically it's not even legal for someone under eighteen to drive around other passengers who are also under eighteen," Simon tells their father. Olivia smiles and giving Eli a look, nodding in agreement with her brother.

Eli frowns at this. "Shut up, Simon, and both of you wipe those grins off of your faces. You'll both be eighteen in four months anyway."

"Three," Olivia and Simon say at the same time.

"That's what I meant," Eli says nonchalantly, pouring a glass of orange juice.

13 year old Xavier and Rebecca come down from the stairs, probably laughing about something stupid. Rebecca goes over to Eli and he takes her in his arms as they exchange a slow kiss. Olivia rolls her eyes at this display of affection, grabbing a toasted bagel and slathering it with jelly.

"So, are you guys ready for your first day back?" she asks, beaming at them with that too perfect of a smile of hers. "Simon and Liv, you guys are seniors now. How does that feel?"

"It feels great," Simon answers, knowing his sister wouldn't. "Though I think that I'm more excited for college next year. MIT here I come…" He says with a proud smile on his face.

Rebecca smiles along with him. "Any school would be lucky to have you, Simon. How about you, Liv? Are you ready for senior year?"

Olivia gives her a long mean look before grabbing her schoolbag and her toast and saying evenly, "I'll be waiting in the car." With that, she takes the keys from Simon, turns around and walks out the door, leaving the kitchen in an uncomfortable silence.

She sits in the passenger seat of her and Simon's 2000 silver Ford Taurus and turns on the radio to her favorite station, hoping to focus her thoughts and keep them off of freakin' Rebecca and the awkward scene she just caused. She knew that she was being a bitch but she didn't care—she wasn't ready to warm up to Rebecca like everything was fine and dandy and treat her like she was just part of the family like her brothers had.

Within the next two minutes, she sees Simon and Matt exiting the house and starting towards the car. "Finally," she mutters as Matt hops in the back and Simon slides into the driver seat, starting the car and taking off down the street.

They ride silently for the first fifteen minutes as Olivia looks out the window, taking in her familiar route to the school. She glances in the rearview mirror and sees Matt with his eyes closed as he bobs his head to the music in his headphones. He was like her in the sense that he still put on his headphones even when there was already music playing in the car. Stubborn as hell.

"Becca says that your skirt is too high," Simon says out of nowhere.

Olivia rolls her eyes and snorts at this, muttering, "Screw her. I'll wear it however I want."

He shakes his head at her. "I agree with her. You don't realize how many guys stare at your ass whenever you walk by and then make demeaning comments about you because of it."

"They would still do it no matter what."

"But you're giving them even more of a reason to."

"When did you turn into my mom?" She says sardonically.

Simon sighs, giving up as they turn into the school parking lot.

"Fine," Olivia tells him, hating the frown on his face. "I'll lower it. Happy?"

His mouth cracks in a small smile. "Yeah. I just care about you, Livs, I'm not trying to play the parent here for no good reason."

"I know, Si. And thanks for caring," she says, giving him a slight smile.

"Okay…is this Dr. Phil episode over now? 'Cause I'd really like for you to open the door so I can get out of here," Matt says from behind them.

They turn around and glare at him, saying, "Shut up, Matt."

Simon unlocks the car and they all get out, parting ways.

As Olivia goes through the halls, she takes in the many familiar faces of kids she's known since middle school and a few of new faces, not including the freshmen.

She takes a quick three minutes to set up her new locker and when she's finishing, she hears a female voice say in a sing-songy tone from behind her, "Heeeey, Livia."

She turns around to see her friend, Abby smiling back at her.

"Hey!" Olivia exclaims, reaching out to hug her.

"Hey, you bitch, was it really that difficult to call once in a while?" Abby asks in that playfully sassy way of hers.

Olivia laughs but does feel guilty for not interacting with her as much. "I'm sorry, I was just really busy. A lot happened this summer," she says, thinking about the mystery man who she had shared a short summer romance with.

They hear the bell ring for them to go to class. Olivia closes her locker as Abby hooks her arm through Olivia's and they start towards their class. "Mmhmm…well, you'll have to tell me all about it at lunch."

"Yeah, okay." They continue down the hall, passing a group of seniors on the football team. One of the jocks, the one she had quite a history with, flashes her a charming, teeth-filled smile and says suavely, "Hey, Olivia."

She gives him a polite smile. "Hi, Edison." He seems surprised by her somewhat formal greeting to him but he shrugs it off, continuing down the hall.

"What's up with you and Davis?" Abby asks.

Olivia tries to play it off. "Nothing. I've just hung out with him and some of his crowd at a few parties—that's all." Abby nods acceptingly, but Olivia knows that what she said couldn't be further from the truth.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

The day goes by painfully slow as her teachers go over class guidelines and syllabuses in every class, boring her out of her mind. In the last period of the day, Olivia takes a seat in the middle of her English class, glad that she's finally made it to the end of her first day, even though she still has practice for the swim team afterwards. She looks around the classroom, making eye contact with Simon, who's with his geeky friends, and waving at him as he returns the gesture. She had only signed up for the AP class because Abby didn't want to do it alone but now Abby was nowhere to be seen and Olivia was almost positive that she had dropped the class at the last minute. Now, she was going to make a fool of herself all by herself.

As she's taking out her essay on To Kill A Mockingbird, she hears a male voice say, "Hey."

She looks up to see a boy, smiling back at her as he takes the seat next to her. He's extremely handsome with Asian features mixed in with sandy blonde hair and baby blue eyes, though they were nothing compared to the ones she had spent every night since July dreaming about.

"Hey…" she says, not really sure what he wants from her.

"This seat isn't taken, is it?"

"Um, no, it's not…"

"Good. You seem like the perfect person to next to."

She quirks an eyebrow at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I didn't mean that rudely. I meant, you seem smart and believe me when I say that I'm going to need someone smart to copy homework from and eventually cheat off of during tests that I won't study for—and I know that you're thinking that Asians are supposed to be geniuses or something but I didn't inherit that gene and while I know that there are more smart people in this class, you seem to be one of the cool ones."

She stares back him, trying to decide whether or not to peg him as eccentric or just someone with a different sense of humor.

"I'm sorry—that was me trying to funny but I guess I really am just as socially inept as I thought."

She smiles. "No, it's fine, I got your humor, but I was just trying to figure out if you were a weirdo or not."

"Oh, believe me, I'm all kinds of weird. It's hard to not seem that way when the number of countries you've visited outweigh the ones that you haven't been to. I'm like an encyclopedia of cultures up in here. I feel like a misfit at almost every school I attend."

"You've travelled around the world? That's cool. Where have you been?" Before he can answer her, the bell to begin class rings.

"Perhaps another time," he says and she nods. He sticks out his hand to her. "My name is Kenny, by the way."

She smiles pleasantly at him and takes his hand, shaking it. "Olivia."

They turn towards the front of the classroom but as soon as Olivia sees who the teacher is, all the breath is knocked out of her.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Fitz had had a long day and was ready to go home as soon as his last class was over. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle being a high school teacher for more than a month, much less the four months that he still had left, but this was a good opportunity and he had basically been given the job so he just had to suck it up. It's just that these kids were irritating the hell out of him because they wouldn't stop talking. He had to hold himself back from shouting 'shut the hell up' at the top of his lungs. He barely made it through the class syllabus in all his periods because he had to stop every five seconds to tell some disrespectful kid to keep his mouth shut. It didn't help that he was extra drained from the hangover he had that morning. He just hoped that this last class wouldn't give him crap. _One more class, just one more_.

This last class is pretty small and that's when he remembers that it's the AP English class. Hopefully they would be different.

He stands in front of the whiteboard and points to his name for the fifth time that day. "Hello, everyone, my name is Mr. Grant. I will be your temporary teacher until your real teacher comes back from her maternity leave."

He pauses, noticing that the class is dead quiet and are all patiently looking back at him, waiting for him to proceed. Maybe they were just as tired as he was. _I hope they stay this way._

"Okay…I'm going to take roll now, uh, if you're here just say 'here', I guess." He starts to read off names, glancing up at each kid every time they respond to get a visual of everyone. He would be with these kids for the next four months, so he might as well start matching names to the faces now.

"Simon Pope," he calls out and a familiar-looking boy says 'here', slightly raising his hand. Why did he look so familiar? He shrugs the thought away and continues with the list.

"Olivia Pope." _Hmm, siblings_. He looks up and drops his clipboard the moment he sees who the name belongs to. The second they make eye contact, the wind is knocked out of him as all of the moments they spent together months ago come rushing back to him. He continues to just stare back at her, frozen in place until she breaks eye contact, gazing down, looking just as flustered as him.

"Uh, Mr. Grant…are you okay?" Simon asks as the whole class looks back and forth between him and his line of vision.

He literally shakes himself out the trance and picks up his clipboard. "Y-yeah. I'm—I'm perfectly fine. Sorry about that." He quickly resumes reading down the list, now not looking up from the board, afraid that the same thing that just happened will occur again.

He quickly goes over the class syllabus and talks a little about To Kill A Mockingbird, trying to keep his mind off of the fact that her eyes have been on and off him for the past forty minutes. The bell effectively ending the school day sounds like a hallelujah to Fitz, giving him time to gather his thoughts as the class files out. He sparingly watches Olivia as she hurriedly gathers her things but no matter how hard she tries, she ends up being the last one in the classroom. He stares at her fully now, unable to tear his eyes away from her anymore. She still refuses to look at him as she slings her bag over her shoulder, ready to bolt. He walks over to her blocking her way, standing a few feet in front of her.

"Olivia," he says softly, loving the sound of her name on his lips. He smiles. "Olivia. It fits you perfectly."

She keeps her eyes away from his but her gaze seems to be wavering as she seems to be deciding to look at him. "Hey, it's okay. Please just look at me."

He reaches out his hand to her cheek and she flinches at his touch but slowly relaxes at the familiar feeling. She finally meets his gaze and says shakily, "Fitz."

He gives her small smile. "Hi."

"H-hi."

**And there we have it. I know some of you may dislike the whole student-teacher idea since so many other stories are already doing that but it won't be like this for the whole story, maybe just for a quarter of it. Anyway, Olitz is again reunited, but not in the way either of them would've ever thought of. What will they do now? Also, what do you think of Liv's family? We'll learn more about Fitz's unique family in due time. Other thoughts? Thanks for reading!**


	5. Coincidences

**I just wanted to say thanks for all the support for this story. I wasn't sure about giving this story a go but all your positive and helpful remarks have influenced me to give this one my all. I will be working on Perfectly Aligned, too, and have that out maybe this weekend so don't worry about that. Anyway, I give you the awaited chapter 5. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Coincidences**

He reaches out his hand to her cheek and she flinches at his touch but slowly relaxes at the familiar feeling. She finally meets his gaze and says shakily, "Fitz."

He gives her small smile. "Hi."

"H-hi."

"Hi," he says again.

"You already said that."

"I know," he holds back a little before continuing, "I've…missed you."

She wants to say the same but then what? Could they really just pick off from where they left off? The circumstances had changed. They weren't two strangers that became friends and almost developed a romantic relationship. He was her _teacher_ now and she was his _student_. If she thought before that no one would take them seriously, now they didn't even have a chance. A relationship between would not only be unacceptable to those around them but also in the eyes of the school board and the law. He would lose his job and be known as the pervert that had an inappropriate relationship with his student and she would be labeled as the whore who seduced him. This couldn't happen.

"Hey," he says, interrupting her thoughts as she steps back a little from him, making him frown at this movement. "It's okay, you don't have to worry about anything. I just…could we go and talk somewhere? Maybe get a small bite to eat?"

"I can't…"

"Please, Olivia, we really need to talk. I think you owe me that much," he says, giving her a knowing look, reminding her of her abrupt disappearance two months ago. His face drops as he asks, "Did you just not want to see me again?"

She shakes her head vigorously. "No, that's not it at all. My dad had us leave a day early. I looked everywhere for you to tell you I wouldn't be able to make it to the picnic and say goodbye but I couldn't find you."

He nods acceptingly as she sighs, feeling bad all over again for how she made him feel so she decides to try and at appeal to him a little. "I have swim practice for the next hour but if you wait, then, yeah, we can talk afterwards."

"Okay," he says slowly. "I'll wait."

He lets her go and she rushes to the locker room to change, already running late. During practice Olivia's coach can see that her head is obviously far from the task in front of her and he calls her out on it, reminding her that she always has to be focused and set an example as the captain of the team. But how could she focus when Fitz was completely occupying her mind at the moment? She couldn't focus on swimming when she knew that he was waiting for her and afterwards they were going to meet up and talk about whatever he had in mind. She wasn't even sure that she was ready to face him again.

After swim practice and a short lecture from her coach, Olivia decided to hide out in the gym while waiting for her brothers' math club and football practice to be over and basically blow Fitz off but as she was leaving the locker room, they ended up running into each other in the hallway.

"Oh, hey," he says, with a slight smile. "I was just looking for you."

"Hey…" She says, avoiding eye contact. "Look, I totally forgot that my brothers are going to done with their with their club and sports practice soon, so we can't do this right now."

She watches as his face falls into the saddest expression but he quickly masks it with an understanding look. "That's alright, um, we can talk another time?"

She nods. "Yeah."

"Okay. Bye, Olivia."

Her heart flutters in her chest at the sound of her name coming from his lips. Why did he have to make everything a hundred times better? More importantly, why did he have so much power over her?

"Bye, F—I mean, Mr…" She stops, not knowing what to call him because now 'Fitz' seemed inappropriate but 'Mr. Grant' just felt awkward.

"Bye," she settles on and turns away from him before he can see what he's doing to her.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Fitz could see that she was apprehensive about reconnecting with him and he understood that. She did have every reason to be. They had shared something back in Hawaii, it had been short but it was something, there had been a spark and he had felt it back in the classroom when they had said 'hi' to each other, but Hawaii was gone and over. Things were very different now. He was her almost 24 year old teacher and she was his still 17 year old student. If she was 18 and in college and he wasn't her teacher then he didn't see a reason why they couldn't work. But this wasn't the case and he knew that they could both get into serious trouble if a relationship between them was made known—and he wouldn't put her in that situation. He already cared about her too much.

But still he just wanted to talk her. He had been deprived of her for two months and now that he had finally gotten to see her, he slowly felt himself coming up for oxygen, up from the abyss of hopelessness he had been in. And just the thought of getting to see her everyday, even if he couldn't have her in the way he wanted, made him happy. But he needed to just talk to her. He didn't know what about but they needed to have a long conversation—he needed at least that.

He sits on his couch, watching the news and eating a microwavable dinner as thoughts of Olivia weave their way in and out of his mind when he gets a call from his mom.

"Hey, mom," he greets.

"Hi, honey. I was just calling to ask about how your first day went."

"It was alright," he answers truthfully, thinking about the majority of the day and the highlight of getting to see Olivia again. "It's going to be a big transition for me but I think that I can handle it.

"Well, that's good. I'm so thankful to Bob for giving you this opportunity. Have you talked to him yet?"

"Yes, I met with him this morning." She's referring to her husband of two years, Bob, who was also the principal of the high school and had given Fitz the substitute teacher job.

"Oh, okay, good. You know, he told me that if you do well, he might be able to find a permanent spot for you if you'd like."

He wasn't sure he wanted to continue to be a teacher after his four months was up, he had another idea in mind. "We'll see…I was actually thinking of going back to school to get my masters in English and maybe a degree in political science."

"You want to get into politics?"

Fitz shrugs to himself. "I've been thinking about it. Maybe I could be a speech writer."

"Well, that sounds great. I know that if you put your mind to anything, you can accomplish it. And I'm so glad that you're finally focused. Hopefully you can rub some of that off on your brother."

He chuckles. "Harry will be fine, just give him some time to have fun and grow up."

She laughs. "I hope you're right. So, when are you going to visit? I overheard you and Harry talking about a lady friend earlier this morning. Will I be meeting her anytime soon?"

"Oh…" He laughs nervously. "Uh, no. I don't have a lady friend, mom."

"I know what I heard." He hears her sigh on the other end. "Please, don't tell me that you're sleeping around, Fitzgerald."

He rolls his eyes. "Mom, I'm sorry, but we aren't talking about this. I have to go now," he says, deciding to end the conversation before she started hounding him.

"Fine, but just promise me that you'll take care of yourself—and come and visit me when you can."

"I will."

"Okay, I love you. Bye, honey."

"Love you, too."

The following morning, Fitz gets up at 6:30, throws on a T-shirt and sweatpants and goes out to run. Though, instead of taking the course he's used for the past two months, he decides to try a different route this morning so that he doesn't have to deal with the stray dogs that sometimes follow him down his regular path.

He's jogging down the road when he turns down the street into a neighborhood and sees a female figure also running about twenty feet ahead of him. The purple jacket she's wearing strikes him as familiar and that's when he remembers exactly why that is.

"Is it really her?" He asks himself. He starts running faster and as soon as he catches up to her, he sees that it is in fact Olivia

"Hi."

She immediately stops as a look of fear and then annoyance flashes across her face. "Fitz! You have to stop doing that."

"I know, I'm sorry," he apologizes, remembering how he did the same thing to her in Hawaii.

"Have you been following me the whole time?"

He shakes his head, answering truthfully, "No, I just turned onto this street."

"You live around here?"

"Yeah, just a few blocks away. You do, too, I'm guessing."

She nods. "Yeah." She looks away from him, seeming to be in deep thought and he wonders if she's thinking about how coincidental it is that they ran into each other this way again.

"What?" he asks, interrupting her thoughts.

"Nothing." She flashes him a smile before taking off again at a fast pace, but he quickly goes after her.

"I didn't say that you could jog with me."

"We jogged together in Hawaii."

"We're not in Hawaii anymore," she retorts smartly.

"Well, you don't own these streets so technically I can run wherever I want," he says back stubbornly, smirking at her.

She rolls her eyes and increases her speed even more. He keeps up with her for about a minute but when he starts to run out of breath he goes in front of her, cutting her off.

"Hey!"

They both stop as Fitz huffs, trying his breath before talking to her. "Damn, Liv, you may not want me to run with you but you don't have to try to kill me," he jokes. "Kidnappers have nothing on you."

He sees her suppressing a smile as she sighs. "Really, Fitz, what do you want? You know we can't do this…

"I know, and I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable but…" He feels like pouring his heart out to her but he doesn't know if she would reciprocate those same feelings and he doesn't want to put her in an awkward position or feel heartbroken if she didn't feel the same way. Besides, he had decided to let this go. But why was it that he couldn't stay away?

"You know what? Never mind. Let's just keep running."

She gives him a mystified look but nods and they take off, jogging the rest of the way in silence and then splitting up when they have to.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

As Olivia goes throughout her classes later that day, she can't get her encounter with Fitz out of her mind. She wonders what he was going to say earlier that morning. And if she thought that he would get out of her head any time soon, she had another thing coming.

Once she gets her lunch, she heads towards the shady table that she and her friends have occupied since freshman year and plops down next to Abby, facing Quinn, Huck, and Huck's techy friend Jake.

"Damn, Liv, why do you look so pissed?" Abby asks.

"I'm not pissed, just tired," Olivia mumbles somewhat truthfully but no one seems to hear her.

"Is it because everyone is talking about you and Mr. Grant?" Quinn asks, with a sympathetic look.

Olivia shoots out of her frustrated haze at this, exclaiming, "What?"

"It's nothing, Liv," Abby tries to downplay, shooting Quinn a look, "Just some kids talking about how Mr. Grant froze up while looking at you."

"What are they saying?" Olivia asks anxiously.

"Nothing, really. They're more talking about him than you. From what I've heard, he's smokin' hot, even when he has a little panic attack. I'll be sure to go to class today."

Olivia is still on edge but relaxes a little at hearing that she's not the one being talked about. The last thing she needed was people thinking that something was going on between her and Fitz. "So, you didn't drop the class? Where were you, then?"

"I didn't finish the Mockingbird essay and I just really didn't want to go. I don't know why I signed up for a stupid AP class but hopefully it won't be all bad—at least now I have some eyecandy to look forward to everyday," she says giddily, making everyone shake their heads at her.

The rest of the periods go by nicely but Olivia dreads going to her last class with Fitz, since she feels like she's already had enough of him for the day. She hopes to just ignore him as much as she can and keep as much distance between him and her as possible but as she and Abby walk into the classroom, Fitz smiles pleasantly at them, greeting, "Ladies," while making eye contact with Olivia until she turns away from him, though she can still feel his eyes boring holes into her back.

Olivia takes her seat next to Kenny, who waves at her with his earbuds plugged in, as Abby gives whatever excuse to Fitz as to why she didn't show the day before.

Kenny smiles at her. "Hi, Olivia."

"Hey. What're you listening to?"

"The calming sounds of the ocean. Today was stressful like you wouldn't even imagine," he says, closing his eyes and leaning back in his seat as he folds his hands across the back of his head.

"Tell me about it," she agrees, thinking about how Fitz-filled her day has been. She glances over to him at the front of the classroom and he again catches her full attention. She ogles at his muscular arms that look extra ripped in his dress shirt. Her mouth waters at his luscious brown waves and the stubborn Superman curl in the middle of his forehead, as well as his confident stance as he crosses his arms over his chest and leans against his desk with a unconvinced look on his face, probably not really buying Abby's story but deciding to let it slide.

Abby merrily takes the seat next to Olivia. "Well, that was easier than I thought it'd be. He totally took my word for it."

"What did you tell him?"

"Well, at first I was going to say that one of my relatives got sick and I had to rush to the hospital but then I felt guilty about using an excuse like that so then I just told him that my dog got food poisoning and died," she says, shrugging.

"He bought that?" Olivia asks skeptically.

"Mmhmm," Abby says, smiling triumphantly.

Olivia looks to the front of the classroom and catches Fitz's gaze. He smirks at her and shakes his head, gesturing towards Abby. She smiles slightly, realizing that he heard their little conversation and in fact didn't believe a word Abby said.

As Fitz teaches, most of what he says goes over Olivia's head, not because she doesn't understand but because she's paying more attention to _him_ than the actual lesson. She knows that she's going to fail this class if she doesn't start paying attention, so she tries to look away but she's unable to escape his soothing, sexy, baritone voice as he lectures.

She looks up as one of the girls in the class raises her hand.

"Uh, yes, Jenny, is it?" Fitz asks hesitantly.

"Yes, it is," she beams at him, seemingly overjoyed that he remembered her name. Olivia rolls her eyes at this.

Fitz smiles politely. "What was your question?"

She giggles before asking timidly, "Um, I know that this isn't really any of my business but…do you have a girlfriend?"

Fitz raises his eyebrows at the question, causing several other girls to giggle at him. He chuckles, looking down sheepishly. "Uh, no. No, I do not."

"Oh, okay, I was just wondering," Jenny says, smiling at her friends. Fitz glances in Olivia's direction and she swears that she saw him wink at her.

"Okay, so, does anyone have any questions about _English_ class?" Fitz asks at the end of the period.

After a few seconds, Simons hand shoots up.

"Yes, Simon?"

"I was just wondering if there's any homework for tonight." His question is followed by a series of groans and glares towards him from the whole class, Olivia included.

Fitz smirks. "Actually, yes, but it's due at the end of the week." He passes out worksheets as the bell rings and everyone leaves the classroom.

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you but I just don't get it…maybe you could help me out," Jenny says flirtatiously, leaning over Fitz's desk and tugging at her uniform polo's collar in a teasing manner. Olivia scowls at this as she exits the classroom. _Hoe. _

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

After swim practice, Olivia's brothers drop her off at the local Barnes and Noble so that she can start her shift. She only worked there three days a week for a few hours after school and had been doing so for almost a year when she decided that she wanted to make her own money and stop asking her Dad for everything. It was her way to feel a little more independent. She made only $9 an hour but her manager was a nice guy, and the job gave her an outlet to get a few more hours away from her crazy family. Plus, she really did love books.

She was sitting behind the counter, occasionally ringing people up when they were done shopping, but it was a slow Tuesday night so she was also getting some homework done.

"Doing other work on the job again, Liv?" Her manager Cyrus asks with a knowing smirk as he picks up a stack of books. He was a jovial, scholarly, middle-aged man who seemed to love books as much as he loved life, but he also had a smart sense of humor which is why he and Olivia got along so well. "You know that I could totally fire you."

"You could, but then who would bring you free Starbucks at 5pm?" Which is when her shift started.

"You have a point—fine, I'll keep you around for Starbucks."

"Just for the Starbucks?"

"Mmhmm." She rolls her eyes at this as, as she answers one of the questions to the homework Fitz gave out for the end of the week. She wasn't one for starting her homework early and sometimes she didn't even do it at all, but she found herself wanting to impress him by showing him her intelligent side, something she didn't bother to do with her other teachers, but like she'd said many times before, he was just different.

"Well, how about I let you leave early? I'll still pay you for the hour, too," he offers.

"Really?" She asks, glancing up at him cynically.

"Yep. I think we have one more customer in here, though, so just ring him up and then you're free to go."

She smiles, packing her stuff up. "Thanks, Cy."

"Just don't get too used to my niceness," he tells her, heading off towards the back of the store.

Olivia is finishing packing up the last of her stuff when she turns around and sees who the final customer is. Her heart skips a beat and her mouth gapes open as she says, "Fitz?"

He gives her a shy smile. "Hey."

"What…did you—?"

"I didn't know that you worked here. I honestly came to buy something new just for my own pleasure."

She calms herself down, quickly returning her excited heart rate to normal. "Oh. Um, I'm sorry, I meant to call you 'Mr. Grant'."

"Please, don't," he tells her with a chuckle. "It makes me sound old. Just call me Fitz."

She shakes her head slowly. "I can't. That would be inappropriate."

He flashes her his award-winning smile and says simply, "Then let's be inappropriate."

She looks away from him, letting out a nervous laugh as he hands her the book he's buying. She smiles at his choice. "Dracula?"

He shrugs. "It's a classic."

She nods as she gives him his change.

"So, are you just going home now?"

"Pretty much. I need to call my Dad or my brother to pick me up, though."

He nods slowly, but she can obviously see that there's something else on his mind.

"What?" she asks before she can stop herself.

"I don't know, I was just wondering if…maybe you wanted to get a bite to eat? It wouldn't be for long, I know a restaurant that can have us in and out in less than 45 minutes, especially since it's a Tuesday night."

She stares back at him, thinking of what to say but after several seconds, he tells her, "I'm sorry. It's okay. I was out of line again." He takes his book and turns away, heading towards the door but Olivia feels the deepest sense of sadness at seeing him walking away from her. Without deliberating about it any further, she quickly grabs her backpack and rushes after him, catching him as he's halfway to his car.

"Fitz!" she calls after him. He spins around, seeming utterly surprised that she came after him.

She walks over slowly to him and asks, "So, where's this place at?"

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

After Olivia called her parents to let them know not to pick her up from Barnes & Noble because she would "be at Abby's for a little while after her shift was done", Fitz takes her to his favorite restaurant in town that happened to have almost everything, so he was sure that her vegetarian needs would be fulfilled. She orders a tofu salad like he expected and he goes with some clam chowder soup. For a while they sit there, stealing glances at each other but not really knowing what to say.

"So," Fitz says, breaking the silence and taking a sip of his iced tea.

"So…"

"How have you been?" He asks, thinking it's as good a question as any to start a conversation.

She shrugs. "Alright, I guess…how about you?"

"I've been alright, too." Then more silence. He didn't think that conversation between them would be so difficult since they had gelled so well together before but now it was starting to get painfully awkward. Their food comes in record time and they continue to eat in silence with Olivia seeming pretty relaxed, but he can tell that that's not the case by the way she's avoiding any kind of eye contact with him now. Of course she was nervous and he was as well and under their circumstances, almost anyone else would be, too. He knew he had to stop beating around the bush and just address their problem head on.

"Olivia, can we please talk about 'us' and what happened in Hawaii?"

"Why?" she questions and he notices her tensing up even more.

"Because I can see that that's our problem here. Both you and I are struggling with how things were back then and how different they are now and I don't think either one of us really knows how to handle our situation now, so can we at least talk about it?"

"I'm fine," she says dryly.

"It doesn't seem like it."

She shoots him a glare, finally looking at him. "Just because you're a teacher now doesn't mean you know everything, especially about me."

"I can still tell when you're lying."

She sighs and then asks. "What are we doing here, Fitz? I mean…what do you really want from me? So, we may have started something over the summer but what makes you think that we can continue it now?"

"I wasn't thinking that," he tells her, even though it pains him to say it.

She looks away from him to regain her thoughts and says quietly, "Then what did you want? Why did you ask me to dinner with you?"

He sighs, leaning back in his seat. "I just…I—I don't know really. I wanted to talk to you…one-on-one just like before..." He looks away from her as he continues. "I know that we can't pursue a relationship. It would be inappropriate and I don't want to jeopardize either one of us."

She nods, looking past him. "Me, neither. I'm sorry," she says quietly.

"Me, too. We can leave now if you want," he says, placing a twenty on the table and getting up.

"Fitz, wait," she calls out softly.

He stops in his tracks at her voice and turns back around to face her, doing his best to keep up his poker face. She takes a deep breath. "Look, I still want us to be friends. And…I've missed you, too," she says in response to his confession the day before.

His looks at her for a long moment as an expression of mild shock crosses his face he softens, nodding and giving her a slight smile. "Okay. I think that we can do that."

She smiles back at him, the first real one that he's seen since Hawaii. He loved the fact that he could bring such a beautiful expression out of her.

He drives her to her neighborhood, parking a few houses down from hers, in case her parents ask her if she really was with Abby. He gets out of the car, opening her door for her before she can herself.

"Well, this was nice," he says with a hint of sarcasm, remembering their awkward dinner, but the ride home had been much better and he was actually able to get her laughing a few times.

She chuckles. "Yeah, it was."

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," he says slowly, knowing that for the most part they'll only see each other during class.

"Mmhmm," she says in a similar somber tone. He breaks eye contact with her, reluctantly turning his back on her before he did anything rash.

"Wait." He turns back at her voice and before he knows it, her arms are wrapped around his torso in a gentle but longing hug. He doesn't take long to hug her back, holding her like it's the last time and laying a lingering kiss on her forehead. They stand like that for one minute, just happy to silently be in each other's embrace.

When they pull apart, he smiles at her, wishing that he could taste her lips one more time but he doesn't want to push her. "Goodbye, Olivia."

She smiles sadly. "Goodbye, Fitz."

**So, what did you think? Do you think Olivia and Fitz will just stay friends for long? Other thoughts? Thanks for reading!**


	6. The Weekend Pt 1

**Chapter 6: The Weekend Pt. 1**

**I'm just going to say that this was a heavy chapter for me to write and that's probably why it's also longer than usual, so brace yourselves. I was contemplating leaving a certain part in here because I thought it might be too much (you'll know what it is) but it ended up fitting well in here. I start off kind of nicely, so enjoy that while you can ; )**

_If you're feeling small  
>I'll love your shadow<br>And when the lights go dark  
>I will stand right beside you<br>If you're feeling small  
>I'll love your shadow<em>

— Shadow by Bleachers

Present—2026

"Olivia? Is that you?" She turns around at the sound of her name to see a familiar face looking back at her. Her heart aches as she remembers just how long it's been since she's seen this person who used to be one of her closest friends. "Cy?"

He hasn't gone completely bald yet, but his remaining hair has grayed out. His physique is the same with that same little pot belly and his simple sweater-vest-and-slacks way of dressing remains. Overall, he's aged pretty well.

He walks over to her with wonder in his eyes as he stumbles over his words, "I—when—I didn't think I'd ever see you again. Wha—where have you been all this time?"

She smiles slightly. "Boston. I just moved back here about a year ago. I'm sorry that I never came by and said 'hi', I wasn't sure if you still worked here."

He nods understandingly and smiles back at her. "Oh, well, you know me. Books are my life."

"I know. With your dedication, you should own Barnes & Noble by now," she says with a chuckle.

He laughs in that shy way of his, shaking his head. "I'm fine where I am. I'm getting to do what I love with enough money to keep me breathing and that's enough for me. So, what've you got there?"

Olivia looks down at what he's gesturing to and reluctantly shows the book to him. "Aah, our most popular seller. The traffic in this store has gone up ten times just because of it. I admit it's a great story, definitely makes me want to be more idealistic about love, but the story strikes me as all too familiar—in the best way possible, though. It reminds me of some people I used to know," he says with a knowing smile, winking at her and telling her that he not only realized that the story was about her but also that Fitz had written it.

"You know."

He nods. "I may not have recognized the middle name 'Thomas' but he's done several interviews for the book so I eventually saw that he was the author. How romantic! How is he, by the way? He hasn't been by here for almost as long as you. You guys moved to Boston together?"

She looks away and shakes her head. "No, we didn't. I don't know how he's doing, either. I haven't spoken to him in…a while," she says quietly, remembering their last encounter.

Cyrus opens his mouth in surprise as a pained expression comes over his face. "Oh, wow. But you guys…you guys were inseparable. You two actually gave me some hope that true love might exist—I'm sorry."

She simply shrugs, not wanting to get into it with him. Now she's not even sure she wants to buy the book like she intended to. "I don't even know why I'm buying this really…" She had already spent three hours there, reading the book and stopping every few minutes to reminisce about the events being mentioned, and now the store would be closing soon but she didn't want to put the book down. As much as she hated to admit, she was actually enjoying the story and some of the memories that it was bringing back to her.

"Well, it's a good read. He wrote some powerful, poignant things in there. It's not like he uses your name or his so if you want, you can treat it strictly as just another love story and nothing more. Just read it, Liv," he tells her, walking behind the counter so that he can ring her up before she changes her mind.

She reluctantly hands him the book and pays for it. After saying goodbye to Cyrus and promising to come by for a lunch date some time later, she sets out again into the humid, rainy, summer day. As she's driving on her way home, her phone starts ringing and the caller id tells her that's her father.

"Hi, Dad," she answers.

"It's not grandpa, it's me, Danny. Hi, mommy," the little voice of her 4 year old son responds.

Olivia smiles at the sound of his happy tone. "Hi, Dannyboy. What are you up to?"

"I'm talking to you, silly goose! What are you up to?" He says, mimicking her other nickname for him.

She laughs. "Mommy just got off of work and now I'm heading home. What did you do today?"

"Grandma and grandpa took us all to Disneyland! I met Mickey Mouse and Goofy and we had a lot of pizza and ice cream and we went on a bunch of fun rides and it was really, really fun. I wish you were there, though…"

Her heart falls in her chest at the sadness in his voice with his last sentence. She had sent Danny to her parents because she knew that she wouldn't get to spend too much time with him with everything going on with work and she knew that he had fun with them since they spoiled him rotten and he got to be with his cousins so he wasn't as lonely as he sometimes was with her. But she knew that he missed her terribly and also loved doing fun things with just the two of them whenever there was time. "I know, sweetie, and I'm sorry that I can't be there with you but maybe next time."

"Okay, and could Uncle Kenny and David come, too? I like it when they visit."

"I'll ask Uncle Kenny about it. Maybe when I pick you up next week, you and David can have a playdate. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!"

She smiles. "Okay. I love you, honey. Can you hand the phone over to grandpa so that I can talk to him?"

"Mmhmm. I love you, too, mommy." Olivia talks to her father for a little while about Danny, work, and how things are going in general and then they say goodbye after Olivia agrees to pick up Danny on the following Monday.

She arrives home, pondering why her house feels especially empty and wondering about why she even has such a huge house when only two people live in it. She thinks of moving into a nice one-story with two bedrooms for her and Danny, another for his playroom, and another for her home office. As soon as she puts her purse down on the kitchen counter, she realizes that she forgot to pick up some food on her way home like she had intended to, but luckily she's able to find some cans of soup in the pantry.

She goes to her bedroom with her bowl of chicken noodle soup and the book she just bought and snuggles herself comfortably into bed where she has a perfect view of the raindrops falling down outside, just like she liked it. After taking a few sips of soup, she opens the book and starts reading from where she left off.

2014

Fitz had had a long week and couldn't wait for his weekend to begin, even though he didn't really have any plans. He sits at his desk as his students pack up their stuff and flood out the door, but his eyes are really only focused on one in particular. He watches as Abby tells Olivia a story and the sweetest sound flows out of her mouth as she bursts into laughter. He could listen to her laugh and look at that gorgeous smile of hers all day if he had the opportunity. They hadn't spent too much time together outside of school—basically just their morning runs had been about it, but he cherished every moment and that hour before school had easily become the highlight of these past three days for him. He looks down, grabbing his pen and continues grading papers like he hadn't been gazing at her for the past minute as she says bye to Abby.

She turns to him once everyone's out of the room and grins at him. "Hey."

"Hey, Olivia," he greets back, smiling politely up at her, trying to act like he isn't as excited to talk to her as he really is.

"So, do you have any plans for the weekend?" She asks.

"No, not really. After I finish grading these papers, I'm just going to head home and relax, I guess."

She gives him a skeptical look. "Boo! That's boring. What, you're just going to sit at home all weekend and read Dracula?"

He smirks at this. "You make it sound like a bad thing. Dracula is very good so far."

"I'm sure it is." She pauses briefly before saying, "Why don't you come to the football game tonight?"

"Football game?"

"Yeah, it starts at about 6, though, I would come around 5:30 to get a seat on the bleachers."

He nods. "We'll see."

"If you come, I might even let you sit by me. I'm pretty positive the other girls wouldn't mind either, but I can't promise anything for the boys," she jokes.

He laughs at this. "You know, I'm not a total loser. I have other friends besides you."

She grins at him. "Mmhmm…have fun with Count Dracula."

"That's it, I am officially throwing you out of my classroom," Fitz says, using faux firmness and pointing at the door.

She raises her eyebrows at him. "Using your authoritarian side—you know, the textbook probably didn't say this but I'm pretty sure that makes your students hate you even more."

"But you don't hate me," he says knowingly.

"Oh, no, I despise you—there's a big difference," she says, winking at him.

He laughs, shaking his head at her. She always managed to brighten up his day.

"Alright, I'm leaving now," she says, starting towards the door and taking a little bit of his happiness with her, even though he had told her to leave. Though, she turns around and faces him one last time, saying, "Try to at least have a little fun."

"I'll do my best," he says back.

She smiles at him and exits the classroom, leaving him unable to focus on his work for the next twenty minutes.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

After swim practice, Olivia showers and changes into something comfortable and stylish. This night would be along one, with a probable 3-hour game and an after party that would most likely last well into the next day, but she was ready to let loose for the weekend. She meets with Abby and the rest of her friends at their cars and they walk to the football field together after buying some snacks. They're able to find some good seats up in the front of the bleachers and watch as some of the football players stretch and do other pre-game rituals. She spots Edison Davis, the quarterback and captain of the team, throwing a ball back and forth with another player on the team. He catches her staring at him and smiles suavely, winking at her before he throws the ball again. She returns the gesture but her smile tightens slightly as she thinks of their relationship. She had been secretly hooking up with Edison every now and then since the year before. After their first time sleeping together, she had thought that they were kind of a thing but he had told her that he wanted them to just be hook-up buddies and nothing more. She was disappointed at first since he had been so nice to her and gentle during their first time and she thought that she would finally have a boyfriend and a guy that would care about her and look out for her, but after a while she became fine with their arrangement. He was a good lay and he made her feel better even if it was temporary happiness.

"Hey, Olivia." She's taken out of her thoughts as Kenny takes a seat next to her with a bag of popcorn and a soda in his hands. "I didn't miss anything, did I?"

She shakes her head. "No, they're going to start soon," she tells him as the pep band starts to play.

"Oh, good. I didn't want to be late for my first live game of American football. Popcorn?"

She smiles at him and takes a few kernels. "Thanks."

"You are very welcome." Olivia had been getting used to Kenny's eccentric personality over the past few days and had gotten to know him a little better now that he was on the swim team, too. At first she had thought that his overly polite behavior was his way of flirting but she had come to realize that he really was just polite. Maybe there actually were some good guys still out there and chivalry really wasn't dead—Kenny and Fitz served as examples.

Abby leans over to her and whispers, eyeing Kenny, "Who's that?"

"You seriously haven't noticed him sitting two seats down from you all week?" Olivia asks disbelievingly.

"No, I haven't. Who is he?"

"My name is Kenny," he says, reaching out his hand to Abby, which she shakes awkwardly and shrinks at how not-secretive she was with her whispering. "You must be Abby, the feisty redhead. Olivia's told me a lot about you."

Olivia gives him a look telling him to watch what he says, while Abby raises her eyebrow at Olivia. "And what exactly has she said?"

"Oh, nothing bad at all. She said that you're one of her best friends and that you're always sweet and selfless and supportive and a good person in general," Kenny says with a hint of a smile.

Abby glares at him as Olivia chips in, "Yeah, and a very good influence."

"So, I'm basically Mother Theresa? You guys are both full of crap—as soon as I heard that I was a good influence, I knew you guys were BS-ing me."

Olivia and Kenny laugh together and Abby cracks a smile at them, saying, "Fine, I'll give you a shot Mr. Smart-ass."

He winks at her and Olivia is almost positive that she sees Abby blush.

After the game, Olivia rides with Abby to the after party with Huck and the rest of their friends and Kenny following behind. The party takes place at the house of some kid they hardly know, but they had been going to the same party for three years now and since the kid was kind of rich and known for having the best parties, they were never disappointed.

Once they all arrive, they socialize with some people they vaguely know and then hit the dance floor. For the first fifteen minutes they all start off dancing together, except for Huck because it's really never been his thing, but Olivia soon finds herself alone in the crowd when Abby runs off with the guy she's currently sleeping with, Quinn leaves to go talk to Huck, and Kenny just disappears.

She starts to feel a little uncomfortable in the middle of the crowd of sweaty bodies and is ready to go join Huck and Quinn when she feels a pair of hands take hold of her hips and a familiar voice say in her ear, "Miss me?" and flick his tongue against her earlobe. She turns around to see Edison and smiles at him. She tries to wrap her arms around his neck but he spins her back around, gripping her hips harder, and continues to grind his erection into her. After a few more songs and them basically screwing each other on the dance floor, he leans down and says something in her ear but she can't hear him with all the loud music and people around them.

"What?" she yells back.

He takes her hand and guides them out of the crowd, roughly pushing a few people in his way and not apologizing, even cussing a few of them out. She knew that he could get irritable when he was drunk and she suspected that he must be pretty drunk since she had smelt liquor on him while they were dancing. He takes them towards the front of the house, saying hi and winking at a girl on the way, who returns the gesture to him but gives Olivia a dirty look. Once they get to the front of the house, where only about twenty people are hanging out, he turns to her and says, "I want to get out of here and go back to my place. It'll be just us."

"I'm not sure we should." She was a little turned off by the way he had acted back in the crowd and even though they weren't even a thing, she hadn't liked how he had looked that girl they passed by. "Why don't we stay here until you sober up a little?"

"I'm fine, Liv." He pauses, looking at her closely before saying, "I thought you wanted to be alone with me as soon as possible. I could see it in your face earlier."

"I do, just not right now. I want to spend a little more time with my friends and dance."

He shakes his head, letting out a spiteful laugh that somewhat creeps her out. "It's alright. If you're suddenly too good for me then maybe we don't need to do this anymore."

She watches as he stumbles towards the street and knows that he won't be able to make it home alone. Besides, they were just going to go to his house and have sex—she didn't see it being any different from their previous times. There was no harm in going with him just for that reason. "Fine, I'll go with you—but I'm driving."

He smiles lazily at her and then digs his keys out of his pocket and tosses them to her.

They find his car down the street and head to his house with him giving her minimal instructions since she already kind of knows the way.

She parks in the driveway of his miniature mansion and Olivia sees that he was telling the truth about it just being them, because it seems as if no one is home at all with all the lights in the house off. Edison unlocks the front door, letting them in but Olivia isn't even able to turn on a light before Edison's hands are back on her hips as he forcefully presses his lips to hers. He pushes her against a wall and she continues to kiss him back until she feels his hands going for the zipper of her jeans.

"Edison—"

"What?" He yells, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

"Edison," she tries again and winces in pain as he forces her jeans down and feels under her panties for her wetness but it's not there. A few hours earlier she had been looking forward to getting laid by him but now she was getting a bad feeling about him like this. He had never been this rough with her, even during their wildest endeavors together. He was definitely too drunk.

She finally tries to push him away but it only makes him come at her even more as he lifts her up by the backs of her thighs and takes them to what she thinks is his bedroom. He throws her onto the bed and quickly unbuckles and unzips his pants. "I hope you're ready for me, Liv, because when I'm done with you, you're gonna be sore for days."

"Edison, I don't want to do this right now. Maybe later," she says, trying to get out of this without angering him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He says with that same uncanny laugh. "I thought you wanted this," he says, pointing down to his junk.

She cringes at him and shakes her head, trying to push him off by he places his knee on her stomach and holds her down with one hand on her chest.

"Edison, stop."

"Come on, Liv, stop playing around," he says as he reaches aimlessly for something on the side of the bed.

"No! Stop it!" She yells, beginning to really freak out because she can hardly push his weight off of her. He slips her panties off and peels his boxers off as he fiddles with what she thinks is a condom.

"Damn it, hold still!" He yells at her as he fiddles with the condom and tries to put it on while trying to keep her pinned down. Olivia feels some of the pressure lift off of her as he does this and takes this as her best chance to get out from under him. She's able to kick at his knee, making him stumble a little and lessen his hold on her, allowing her to push him further off of her.

She gets up and grabs her panties, slipping them back on, ready to bolt away from him but he grabs her at the waist and throws her to the ground.

"You bitch!" He yells as she feels his hand make contact with the side of her face.

"Let me go!" She screams, her heart beating out of her chest in fear, and much to her surprise, he does. She gets off the floor, dizzily making her way out of the bedroom, her eyes watering at the pain consuming her face.

"Fine, get the fuck out of my house and don't ever come back, you stupid slut!" He calls after her, as she grabs her jeans and shoes, rushing out of the front door. Once she's a considerable distance from the house, she stops and puts on her pants and her shoes. As she stands in the middle of the sidewalk, breathing heavily, she begins to shake uncontrollably now that her mind is out of fleeing mode and falls down onto her knees, burying her face in her hands as she bursts into tears.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

He had just finished an hour of exercise at the gym but Fitz was craving junk food like his life depended on it. So, he decided to give into his cravings and stop by the nearby convenience store and gas station on his way home to buy a cheap hotdog and soda, just this once. He decides to buy some gas while he's at it since his tank is almost on empty, even though he probably won't be going anywhere for the weekend, but he was already at the gas station, so why not?

As he waits for his tank to fill up, Fitz sees a huddle figure, shivering on a nearby bench. This doesn't really strike him as too out of place since people were always waiting around or just chilling at this gas station, but for some reason, Fitz feels drawn to whoever it is and can't tear his eyes away. After he's done getting gas, he heads inside the convenient store but as he approaches the entrance, he can't help but feel like the person huddled on the bench looks familiar. He's about to go inside but then he stops right in front of the doors as he recognizes the person, or is at least 80 percent sure it's who he thinks it is, but he wonders why they're there, seemingly all alone. He tentatively walks up to the person, not wanting to get too close in case he was in fact mistaken but as soon as he gets within five feet of the person, he knows he's right.

"Olivia?" He asks. Her head whips up at his voice and by the look of her puffy eyes, he can see that she's been crying.

"Fitz…What're you doing here?" She says, trying her best to mask the sadness in her voice but he doesn't fall for it one bit.

He ignores her question as something on the side of her face sticks out to him but he can hardly see anything with the dim light above them. He moves in closer to get a better look and gasps at what he sees— a huge bruise along with swelling and what looks like blood along the left side of her face. "Oh, my gosh, Olivia, you're bleeding and your face is starting to swell even worse than when I hit you with the volleyball. What happened?"

She shakes her head strongly, avoiding eye contact with him. "Nothing."

"I don't think that 'nothing' happened. How did you wind up at this gas station? Most residential places are at least a mile from here. Were you dropped off? Why?"

"Just stop, Fitz, I'm fine. Just let it go."

"Let it go? Olivia, you're sitting here at some random-ass gas station with a bruised and bloody cheek and you're telling me to just let it go? Well, I'm not. Look at me."

She shakes her head. He looks back at her, wondering why she's being so elusive but then an idea hits him. He swallows hard before asking, "Did…did someone do this to you?"

All she does is continue to look at the ground and shake her head. "Olivia…"

"Stop," she mutters.

"Olivia, look at me." He finally tilts her head up towards him, trying his best to ignore her wound and focus on her eyes, and as soon as he looks into them, he knows the truth.

"Liv…" he says, kneeling down in front of her as he delicately wipes away the tears that are trickling now down her face with his thumb.

"Don't," she tells him firmly, her voice getting slightly caught up in her throat. He pulls her up by her hands, ignoring her protests as he sees that she's going to break down soon.

"Livvie, it's okay." He takes her in his arms, holding her tightly as she fully succumbs to him. He shushes her, stroking her hair as she tries to speak while sobbing uncontrollably. His heart was breaking piece by piece at seeing her this way. What had happened to the Liv that was smiling brightly and beautifully and cracking jokes in the few hours they had been apart? Who had hurt her to the point of making her into crying, bruised mess? As soon as he found out, he would make sure that this person went through a world of pain for what they did.

Once she stops, he faces her and says, "Let's get out of here. We can go back to my house, if you're fine with that."

She nods, wiping away her tears. Forgetting about his original reason for being there, Fitz helps Olivia into the passenger seat of his car, gets in himself and they leave the gas station. As he drives, he gives her occasional side glances, watching her as she looks out the window with an occasional sniffle. He wishes that he could pull over and just hold her until every all her tears were gone but he knows that needs to tend to her cheek before it got worse, so he instead focuses on driving faster to get to his house.

Fitz rushes to open her door for her and holds her hand as they walk into the house. He guides her to his couch and tells her to wait for a second while he gets his first aid kit. He hurries back to her, frowning at how broken she looks and wanting to rip out the guts of whoever did this. Once she calmed down a little, he would ask her and get down to the bottom of it.

He sits back down next to her, saying, "Okay, Liv, I'm going to take a look and try to fix you up, okay?" She nods so he gently tilts her head so he can get a better look and examines her wound. A large chunk of her cheek is blackening and swelling but she seems to have stopped bleeding. He uses the antiseptic to wipe off the dry blood and clean the area, making her cry out at the sting.

"Sorry," he quickly apologizes. "Um, do you feel any numbness or any kind of fracture?"

She shakes her head. "Okay, that's good. It's not too bad. It should take a week to a week and a half for the bruising to disappear," he says, slipping a band aid on the flesh wound. "I'm going to go get you some ice."

He goes to his kitchen and puts some ice in a small plastic bag then goes back to the living room, handing the bag to her. She presses it to her cheek and winces at the pain but slowly adjusts. After a while of sitting there in silence, he's about to ask her if she needs anything else when she says in a low voice, "You seem to be good at fixing people up. Why didn't you become a doctor?"

He smiles, glad that she's talking. "Uh, I guess I just never saw it in the cards for me. I didn't want to go to school for that long and I also didn't want to be drowning in debt. Besides, I learned most of this stuff from the internet when I had to treat myself and my brother, Harrison. We had a knack for getting into trouble when we were younger."

She looks back at him wordlessly urging him to go on, so he does. "Like this one time, I think it was when I was a freshman in high school and Harrison was about 10 or so. We were playing a basketball game two-on-two with these other kids that lived in the same neighborhood as us, but for whatever reason, Harrison just kept harassing the crap out of one of them, he's always had such a smartass attitude, even back then. Anyway, these guys were around the same age us but they were huge and back then, you should've seen me, I was just a little shrimp—no muscle at all." She smiles slightly at this and he does as well. "So, the one Harrison keeps harassing gets fed up and pushes Harry down and like the stupid, heroic older brother I was, I get in the guy's face, which ends up being a huge mistake."

"What happened?" She asks.

"Well, for one, we ended up getting pummeled, not to the point that we couldn't walk home but when our mom saw us she started crying hysterically and rushed us to the hospital." Fitz laughs as he remembers and Olivia actually chuckles along with him. "It wasn't as bad as we thought—a few bumps and scrapes but things like that happened all the time so after a while I became the 'family doctor' if you could call it that."

She smiles at him and he does the same, happy to see her happy again but he knows that he's about to ruin it with his next question. It was best for her to talk about what happened earlier that night and sort things out now than keep it all bottled in—he knew that well.

"Liv, I know that this is going to be difficult to talk about but I need you to tell me who did this to you. If you tell me, I can make sure that they are held fully responsible for what they did and can't do it to anyone else."

She shakes her head. "No, it's okay."

"It's not okay. Some asshole hit you so hard that you had a flesh wound and ditched you at a gas station—that is never going to be okay."

"Why do you even care? Why do you want to help me?"

"Because…"

"Because what?"

"Because I care about you and I want to look out for you."

"You don't even know me…"

He sighs and admits, "Maybe I don't but I would like to. We agreed to be friends, remember? And this is what friends do—friends look out for each other. Please, Liv, let me be here for you, let me help you."

He watches her as her eyes start to water again and her bottom lip quivers as she quietly says, "I just…I don't want anyone to know. If I tell you then I don't want you to tell my parents or the police or anyone."

"But how else am I supposed to make sure that this person gets in trouble for what they did—"

"No, Fitz! As much as I hate this son of a bitch for what he did to me—I don't need it being broadcast to the entire school, I don't need people looking at me because they feel sorry for me."

"But the bruise…"

"I'll just lie and say that I hurt myself when I hit a pole or got into a minor car accident."

Fitz sighs and nods his head reluctantly agreeing, for now.

She takes a deep breath, focusing her gaze on the carpet below them as she says, "It was Edison Davis. My friends and I went to a party after the game and…he was there and we danced for a while but then he wanted to go back to his place so I went along with it and…" She starts crying for real now. "We were going to…but I didn't want to and then he pinned me down…" Fitz's blood starts boiling at this as he balls up his fists. This jackass raped her?! He would have to convince her to talk to the feds because there was no way in hell he would let this son of a bitch get away with what he did to her.

"So, while he was sort of distracted I was able to get out from under him and when I was trying to get away he—he hit me and told me to get out…"

"Livvie…"

Her tears start falling like waterfalls as she cries, "I was so stupid. I knew that I shouldn't have gone with him but I did and now this happened. It's so humiliating and it's my fault for being a stupid idiot and a whore."

Fitz's heart is breaking at hearing her say all this stuff about herself. He can't hold back any longer and takes her in his arms. At this point, she doesn't even try to push him away and instead clings onto him for dear life, soaking his shirt with her tears. "That is not true, Olivia, and what happened will never be your fault, no matter what you did to provoke him. He had no right at all to hit you, do you hear me?"

She doesn't reply so he asks again, "Olivia, I need you to tell me that you believe that. It wasn't your fault. Say it."

She quiets down, blinking away some tears and sighs before saying quietly, "Fine, maybe it wasn't my fault but he was still right in a sense. That's all he ever saw me as—just some stupid slut that he could use whenever he felt like it. And that's all I ever showed him—that I was easy, so maybe he was right."

"No! Don't you ever say that about yourself. Edison's opinion and however he sees you is bullcrap. He's just some stupid teenage boy whose main goal is to see how many girls he can get in his pants. He's the idiot and he's not worth your time. You don't need guys like that in your life and you don't need to stoop to their level. The mistakes you've made in the past don't change the fact that you are amazing, Olivia. In the short time that I've gotten to know you, I see you as one of best people that I've ever met. You're smart and funny and in my opinion beautiful on the inside and out. And anyone who can't see that can go and screw themselves. You were not responsible for what happened and if you don't want anyone to know about it, then I won't say anything, but he needs to be held accountable in some way. I'm going to make sure of it. You're never going to have to worry about him hurting you ever again," he says, gently kissing her temple. He feels her tense up for a second but she quickly snuggles into him. They sit in silence as she slowly stops crying, but Fitz never lets her go and she never lessens her hold on him. He looks at the clock on the mantle above his fireplace and sees that about half an hour has gone by since they've been there but he had lost track of time as he thinks about how good it feels to hold her and how perfectly she fit in his arms. He was glad that he was there to comfort her and wipe her tears away and make her feel whole again.

"Are you hungry?" he asks after a while, but she doesn't reply. "Liv?"

"Mmm," she whimpers, fidgeting on him but then she suddenly shoots up. "Where am I?"

"It's okay, Liv, you're okay. We're at my house," he tells her, trying to calm her nerves.

She relaxes as she remembers and sighs. "Oh…" She yawns, asking groggily, "What did you say before?"

He smiles at her sleepy hair. "I was asking if you wanted something to eat, but if not, I can take you home if you're tired."

"Oh, we can eat. What do you have?" she asks, bringing her knees up to her chest and curling up to the arm of the other side of the couch.

"I still have to go to the grocery store tomorrow but I do have chips and lemonade, or water if you prefer that."

She nods. "That sounds good. I'll take water."

He goes to the kitchen and prepares a bowl and gets their drinks. He puts a bowl of Doritos in the between them and hands her a bottle of water. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he says, taking a sip of his lemonade. They drink and munch for a while but Fitz notices her shivering a little. He gets up and goes to the hallway closet, getting one of his mom's homemade knitted blankets then comes back to the living room and lays it softly on her.

"Thanks again," she says, smiling timidly at him and spreading the blanket over her body.

"Do you want to watch something?" He asks, reaching for the remote and offering it to her but she shakes her head at this.

"You find something. I don't care what it is, but preferably something funny or stupid to take my mind off of things."

He nods and starts flipping through channels for a while before stopping on one that's showing a re-run of Seinfeld, one of his favorite comedy shows. "Is this alright?" he asks her.

She nods and smiles slightly. "Yeah, I love this show."

They watch and laugh together at all the right times and during the two episodes showing he notices her absentmindedly inching closer to him until she's curled into his chest where he hears her sigh and relax into him and it doesn't take him long to wrap his arms around her. After a while he notices that he's the only one laughing and once the show ends he sees that she fell asleep again. She looks so peaceful as she sleeps, so much that he can hardly tell that she had been upset earlier. He hopes that he never has to see her that distraught ever again.

He carefully lifts her up, not wanting to disturb her and carries her to his bedroom, pulling aside his sheets and laying her down. He watches her relax into his soft pillows and blankets and tucks her in, making sure she's comfortable, but when he turns to head back to the couch, he hears her softly call out, "Fitz."

He turns around. "Yeah, Liv?"

She reaches out her hands to him. "Stay with me."

He looks back at her with uncertainty and she seems to sense this so she says, "Please."

"I don't know, Liv…"

"Please, Fitz, I don't want to be alone. I just need someone to be here with me, I want you to be here."

He's about to tell her that he will be there, just in the other room but he knows that that's not what she means. After silently deliberating about for several more seconds, he slips off his shoes and climbs onto the bed, lying on top of the covers. She moves towards him, putting her arm around his torso and pulling herself closer to him, quickly falling asleep soon after. He knew that what happened to her would be tough getting over and would most likely come with a few nightmares along the way, but he would be there every step to hold her hand and get her through it. From this moment on, he would always be there for her and he would never let anyone hurt her like that again. He puts his arms back around her, feeling completely comfortable and content in this moment with her safe in his arms and dozes off.

**Well, that was a heavy chapter. I know this one was hard to really enjoy but tell me what you thought. Do you think that Liv will get through this with Fitz at her side? Do you think that she should tell her parents or the police? How do you feel about Edison and what should happen to him? Don't worry too much about that, I have plans for him *evil laugh*. Do you think that this experience will help Olitz's relationship grow as friends and eventual lovers? Also, I tell me what you thought of the 2026 flash forward. Other thoughts? Thanks for reading!**


	7. The Weekend Pt 2

**It's weird because I've heard a lot of FanFiction writers say that they can't update because they're not getting any inspiration from Olitz on the show and it's making it harder to write on here, but I actually feel like when Olitz is doing poorly on the show, I'm more eager to write good things for them here to raise my spirits. *shrugs* I don't know, but here's chapter 7. This was a cute one to write. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7: The Weekend Pt. 2**

Olivia wakes up the following morning in a warm, comfortable bed and the sun shining on her face. She wonders where she is, throwing the sheets off and freaking out as she glances around the room and doesn't recognize it as her bedroom. But then the events of last night quickly come back to her and she figures that this room must belong to Fitz.

She slowly rises from the bed and takes in her disheveled appearance in his dresser's mirror. She pats down her hair to fix it up a little and then makes her way out of the bedroom to the living room where she and Fitz had sat the night before on the couch as he comforted her. She feels embarrassment come over her as she remembers how close they were and how much she allowed herself to be so open with him. She doesn't recall ever being that vulnerable with anyone and while she's almost certain that Fitz wouldn't use it against her, it scared her that she had let herself get so close to him, that she had let down her protective barrier that she had worked to build up to what she thought was the point of impenetrability for so many years. But he had broken it down in one night. He had made her comfortable with confessing not only what happened to her to him but her insecurities as well, she had allowed him to hold her as she cried, and she had allowed him to be there for her like no one else had in such a long time, so it felt strange to her but in a way she felt more free.

She stands around awkwardly in the living room, not knowing what to do or where to find him until she sees him stand up from behind the kitchen island and smile brightly at her. "Good morning, Liv."

She gives him a half smile and says coyly, "Good morning, Fitz."

"Did you sleep well?"

She nods. "Yeah." Her sleep had actually been remarkably comfortable.

"Good. I got up in the middle of the night to give you some more space because I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable when you woke. I was going to just take the couch but I completely forgot about that bag ice, which had melted all over the couch, so I slept on the floor and it was strangely comfortable—no back pains whatsoever."

She smiles. "Maybe you're not as much of an old man as I thought you were."

"Guess not."

"I'm sorry about the bag of ice, though."

"It's fine. It should dry out within the next few hours."

She agrees and then looks on the counter, seeing her phone and remembers that she forgot to tell her Dad that she wouldn't be coming home. She rushes to her phone but sees a text message from Abby saying: _U better luv me 4ever 4 saving ur ass from ur dad. How'd things go with Edison? ;)_

She had been trying desperately to block out her encounter with Edison, for as long as she could, but Abby's question brought it all back. She knew that she shouldn't have gone with him—something in her gut told her it was a bad idea but she had been naive in believing that something like that wouldn't transpire with Edison in his drunken state. Now that she thinks back on it, she remembers hearing about Edison's violent tendencies with both males and females but she had blinded herself from who he really was just for sexual pleasure, and now she was in a big mess with him.

"Liv?" Fitz walks over to her with a worried look at her saddened expression. "What is it?" He asks, though she's sure he has a pretty good idea.

She shakes her head and puts her phone in her pocket. She felt like he had already dealt with enough of her problems. "I'm going to take off. Thanks for everything," she says, barely looking at him.

"Wait, I wanted to make you breakfast. It won't take long. You can leave if you want after but you don't have to be in such a rush," he says with a reassuring smile as he takes her hands and guides her to a stool by the island.

She's about to refuse again but when she looks into his eyes all she sees is the utmost sincerity. She wonders if he's as lonely as she is. Or maybe he was still just trying to be nice because of what happened to her the day before. Whatever the reason, she decided she would stay. She wasn't looking forward to having her family badger her about her bruise anyways.

"Okay."

She watches him closely as he swiftly maneuvers around the kitchen, starting out calm and confident but quickly becoming flustered as his pancakes and eggs start to burn, not to mention the well past burnt bacon.

"You have cooked before, right?" She asks with a smirk.

"Yeah, of course, I have. Everything's under control," he says, rushing to take the bacon out of its pan and cursing when he accidentally burns himself.

Unable to watch this hopeless scene anymore, Olivia comes to his rescue, getting up from her stool and turning off the stove burners.

"Seriously, Liv, I've got this."

"Just let me help you," she insists, taking the spatula from him and slightly brushing her fingers across his hand, eliciting a noticeable reaction from both of them.

She turns away from him and clears her throat. "Um, do you have any more eggs?" she asks, scraping off the burnt remains in the pan and throwing them in the trash.

"Yeah," he says, taking the carton of eggs out of the fridge.

"Great. Trash that bacon and those pancakes—actually, trash everything. We're starting from the beginning."

"Oh, come on, Liv, it wasn't that bad."

"Yes, it was, Fitz," she says with a smile. "But I'm going to help you out so watch and learn."

She starts on the pancakes, using the leftover batter and when she finds some chocolate chips in the pantry she decides to add those to the mix. She uses the eggs to make two omelets with parsley, onions, and red bell peppers, and then fries the bacon just the right amount. When it's all done, she dishes out for both she and Fitz and they take their seats at the small dining table in the kitchen.

Olivia stares curiously at Fitz before she takes a bite, knowing that the food is good but eager to see his reaction. She watches as he swallows and then his mouth forms into a small "O". "This is amazing—like world-renowned French chef amazing."

She laughs. "Thank you very much."

"This is the best omelet I've ever tasted—though, I should make sure that my mother never hears me say that. She wouldn't take it well at all," he says with a chuckle. "And these pancakes. Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

She hesitates before admitting, "It's something me and my dad used to do together. He used to be a chef when he was younger and taught me and my brothers some things but I'm the only one who really took interest in it."

"Well, you're very talented at it. Have entered competitions or anything or is it just a hobby?"

"It's pretty much just a hobby but..."

"But what?" He probes.

She shrugs and looks away shyly. "I don't know, it's kind of stupid but since my dad introduced me to cooking, I've had this dream of opening my own world famous restaurant."

"Really? Well, tell me more about this fantastic dream," he says, crossing his arms over his chest after swallowing the last bite of his food and leaning back in his chair like he was ready for a long tale, smiling encouragingly at her.

She can't help but blush and giggle nervously with his beautiful smile and his intense blue eyes staring back at her. Why did it take just one look from him to affect her like this? "Um, okay, fine. I'll tell you but promise you won't laugh...I thought of this when I was little so it might sound a little ridiculous and it isn't quite exactly what I want to do," she says, even though she had been fantasizing about the concept about a week ago.

He chuckles but nods. "Okay, I promise."

"So, I had this idea, and I'm not sure if anyone's really done it yet since I don't doubt that anyone's thought of it though I haven't seen it anywhere, but I really like to cook many kinds of food, you know, from different cultures so I thought that it would be cool to have a restaurant that has different types of food—American, Mexican, Chinese, Caribbean, etc. I know it would be really complicated and sounds absurd but—"

"But why not? I think it's a great idea and very unique, even if it would be pretty difficult to pull off at first. I know you said that you thought of this idea when you were a kid but I have a feeling that you're still thinking about it now. If it's honestly what you want to do I think that you should go for it all the way and try to make your dreams a reality."

She nods, still not completely convinced but willing to consider his advice. "And what about you, Mr. Optimistic? What are your dreams and goals in life?"

"Oh, I'm already doing it—rolling in that dough and living it big as an English teacher. Nothing better than spending my days with literature books," he says, smirking and they both laugh.

"Did you really just use 'dough'?"

"Yes, Liv, I'm not as old as you think," he says, winking.

She shakes her head. "Seriously, Fitz, what do you want to do? What would make you happy in life?"

He stares at her for a while, giving her a look that she can't quite read and she sees some redness in his cheeks redden as he says, "Well, I've always had a vast interest in politics. I don't know if I'd go for President of the United States but I want to do something to contribute to the nation and help get rid of corruption in Washington. I don't exactly how I want to go about it, but I was thinking about going back to school to earn a degree in political science. Maybe when I'm done with teaching."

She smiles warmly at him. "Wow, I never would've guessed that you were into politics, but I can totally see you becoming a politician. You just have a certain charm about you." That, and he'd be the sexiest politician alive.

He chuckles. "Thanks. I also want to write a few novels. Maybe I could use that charm to write a romance."

"Oh, look at you, Romeo," she says with a cat-call.

He laughs but she notices him flush even more as he asks, "Do you ever stop coming up with new nicknames for me?"

"I guess not. It seems to be another gift of mine."

"Olivia Pope, the gift that keeps on giving."

They exchange grins and get up to take their empty plates to the kitchen and clean up. Olivia knew that she had said she would leave after breakfast but she had only said that out of politeness and convenience for Fitz. She wished she could spend the rest of the day with him. He was unlike any friend she had ever had. He was not only fun and had a good sense of humor but he listened to her and got her on a level that no one else did, not even Simon or Abby. Simon listened to her but sometimes she felt like he was too quick to judge or be skeptical, almost like their Dad. And while Abby got her in a sense, she only listened when it came to boys, parties, bad grades or some argument with her parents and she didn't feel like Abby really knew the real Olivia Pope. While she was still somewhat holding back with Fitz, she felt like she could be as close to the true her as possible around him. They could have fun and laugh and still carry on an intelligent conversation. She got the best of both worlds with him.

"So, what are you going to do today?" She asks, not quite making eye contact as they finish up in the kitchen.

He shrugs. "Maybe watch some TV, grade some schoolwork, do some reading, maybe hang out at the park or something..." he glances over at her cautiously. "How about you?"

She shrugs as well. "Go home, take a shower and change, leave as soon as possible to get away from my brothers...maybe hang out at the park or something," she jokes, parroting his last phrase.

He smiles and pauses a little before asking, "Well, would you like to hang at the park or something together?"

She grins at him. "I suppose we could."

* * *

><p>While he had thoroughly enjoyed the last few hours with Olivia, Fitz had been thinking in the back of his mind about how to approach her about the Edison issue. He understood that she was scared and didn't want a ton of attention being drawn to her but he thought that seeing him pay for what he did would give her some kind of closure. Maybe he was more eager to see Edison branded than she was and he was pushing this too much. Should he really just let it go and let her handle it the way she wanted? That would be difficult, considering the pompous asshole was in one of his English classes and it would take everything in Fitz not to punch him out every time he saw him, especially when he kept interrupting his class to say some ignorant comment like usual. Fitz thought of gradually tanking his grade—it wouldn't be too difficult since he was already doing pretty bad and it had only been a week, but Fitz knew that wouldn't work the way he wanted it to. He had to hit him where it hurt and Fitz knew that Edison didn't care about his grades, he cared about football and even if he tanked his grade to get him out of football, his coach and parents would likely find a way to keep their star player on the team. Fitz needed something more indisputable, something more serious than bad grades, but since Olivia wouldn't budge, he would have to keep looking for another way to nail this son of a bitch. There was a high possibility that this wasn't the first time Edison had tried this andor unfortunately succeeded with another girl. Someone had to know something.

For today, though, he just wanted to focus on him and Olivia and giving her a nice, fun day that would keep her spirits up so that's what he would do. He takes a shower and dresses in something simple and comfortable, perfect for the park. She's back at his house in an impressive thirty minutes but he can see that she's a little flustered. Hopefully her family hadn't given her too much trouble about the bruise. They got into his car and were on their way to one of Fitz's favorite parks about twenty miles away from town and away from any of the people they knew, but when they're about halfway there, Olivia decided she wanted to skip the park and see a movie instead. She said she'd been dying to see The Maze Runner so around noon they ordered two tickets and went. They got out of the movie theater two hours later and after grabbing some smoothies, she decided that she wanted to go laser tagging. He agreed, thinking it would be fun and a nice way for them to do something active for the day. Besides, he knew that she was still conscious about her face, which is why she had been picking darkness-related activities so laser tag was perfect. The game had started out nice and he had let her win at first but as she continued to taunt him, his pride got the best of him and the game turned intensely competitive. In the end, however, they both lost to some annoying ten year old kid who had been giving them trouble throughout the game, which they both found comical.

Thoroughly exhausted, they decided to head back to his place around 5pm to just hang out and make a light dinner. Although, Fitz had enjoyed the entire day with her, his favorite part had been watching her as they drove down the highway when they rolled the windows down in his car and she sang, no screamed, "Don't Stop Believin'" at the top of her lungs. He had eventually joined in with her but for a while he had just enjoyed taking in her happy, glowing appearance. Her gorgeous, wide smile—her sweet laugh—those soft, full lips—her freshly-melted chocolate eyes—her luscious hair as it whipped around her face and the cute scrunched up expression she made when it started to annoy her. She didn't know just how beautiful she was. Even with a bruised cheek, to him she was flawless.

* * *

><p>"I reckon someone had a bit of fun today," Fitz says, handing her her plate with her sandwich as he sits down on the couch next to her with his plate.<p>

"Thanks. And yes, I did. What about you?" She says, beaming up at him.

"One of the funnest. You play a very mean game of laser tag, though, I have to say that I probably would've won if it weren't for that kid."

"Please, I was owning you in the end. That kid actually did you a favor because I would've decimated your ass," she exclaims with a triumphant smile.

"Is that right? Well, how would you feel if you knew that in the fifteen games of laser tag that I've played, not including this one, I've won ten times?"

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever, geek. Just eat your sandwich."

After they finish eating and a little more conversation, Olivia sees Fitz's Dracula book on the coffee table and flips through it. She asks Fitz to read some of it to her and when he asks her why, she tells him that she wants to see what she's missing out on when in reality she just wants to relax to the sound of his voice. She starts off sitting upright, about a foot away from him but as she starts to feel more tired, she inches closer to him before she just says to hell with it and finally leans into him. He pauses briefly in his reading once she does this but continues, putting his arm around her. She lays her head on his shoulder and slightly on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and the vibrations going through his body from his soothing, baritone voice, tempting her with sleep. She closes her eyes, breathing in his wonderful scent and feeling absolutely happy and safe in his arms.

She wakes up when she feels him sit her up and ask something she can't register in her sleepy haze. "What?"

"I said, I knew that you thought the story was boring but I didn't think you'd fall asleep."

"It wasn't the story, it was your voice."

He raises his eyebrows. "My voice bored you to sleep. Damn, Liv, you have no chill."

She smiles. "No, I meant it in a good way. Like you have a really soothing and angelic voice."

"Angelic, huh?" He asks, with a look that tells her that he's enjoying this way too much.

"Ugh, shut up," she says, getting up and knowing that their day is officially over. She looks over at the clock on the mantle and sees that it's about 9 o' clock. Her brothers would for sure still be up but she remembered her Dad saying something about date night with Becca so hopefully they would still be out by time she got home. They hadn't been home when she had gone to take a shower and change earlier but her brothers were and they had given her hell for the bruise like she had expected, but she thinks she has a pretty good chance of just surpassing everyone and going straight to bed if her Dad and Becca aren't there.

"Ready to go?" Fitz asks, grabbing his keys.

She nods reluctantly and they head out. Within two minutes they're at her house and as usually, Fitz gets out of the car to open her door. _Such a gentleman_. He gently takes her hand, guiding her out of the car and walks her closer to the house. He stops at the neighbor's driveway and faces her, tilting her bruised cheek towards him, saying, "You can start applying heat and the cut will probably be healed by Monday so you can take the band-aid off then."

She nods, looking away from him, knowing what he's about to bring up.

"I know that you don't want anyone to know about this and I will honor your wishes and not tell anyone but I think you should at least consider coming out with it—the sooner the better. And I hate to say it but the bruise is probably the prime piece of evidence in nailing him for what he did and it won't last forever." They could take a picture but she knew that he wouldn't mention that. He was already uncomfortable enough with just bringing this up again.

"Yeah, I know," she says quietly. "And I'll think about it some more," she adds truthfully. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, especially if she had Fitz with her every step of the way. "Thanks for today."

He smiles. "No problem. I had a lot of fun, too."

They exchange a hug and when they pull apart, he lays a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Olivia."

"Goodnight, Fitz."

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I thought it'd be nice for Liv to get her mind off of things a little but hopefully she'll deal with things the right way soon. How do you think Fitz will help her and deal with Edison? If Liv doesn't tell everyone how she really got the bruise, do you think people will believe a made up story? Will her family accept a made up story? Do you like the way Olitz's relationship is going as of now? Other thoughts? Thanks for reading!**


	8. Breakthrough

**Happy Thanksgiving, gladiators! I hope this day is treating you well. I was going to make this chapter longer but I know a lot of you have been requesting this update since Monday which is when I said I would update and now it's Thursday—sorry! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well as this Thanksgiving.**

**Chapter 8: Breakthrough**

"What do you mean there's nothing else you can do?" Fitz exclaims, perhaps a little too rashly and then feels guilty for yelling at his stepfather and principal. "I'm sorry."

Bob nods. "It's alright."

"It's just that if this has happened three times before, shouldn't he have already been dealt with in some form?"

"You would think that but Edison's parents are very powerful and wealthy people. They've done a lot for this community and have been one of the school's main contributors monetarily, so their son pretty much has the green light to do whatever he wants."

Fitz can't believe what he's hearing. He thought that his stepfather was a good, honorable man, which is why he hadn't had a problem with his mom marrying him, but now he wasn't so sure what to think. "So, you're fine with him treating girls like crap and abusing them just because of his parents' generous donations? Bob, that's unethical, especially for a leader of a school…"

"Fitz, I know that, and I'm ashamed that I can't do more to help but this honestly isn't on me. I'm not at the top of the food chain here—my bosses, the superintendents decide on what happens in cases like this. They think that upholding the high class standard of this school is worth the risk that they're taking with Edison, so that's that."

"'High class standard', yeah, because having rapists milling all over the school is very high class," Fitz mutters.

"I've tried so many times to convince them that this isn't the way to go but they honestly believe that the pros out way the cons. I love this school and I love being one of its main leaders, so it really pains me that this stuff goes on but there just isn't anything I can really do."

"But how about the other girls that Edison's abused? I can assume that they've gone to the police before."

Bob nods. "Yes, they have and tried to get something done but after a while they all just disappeared. It may have to do with the fact that the three girls were largely known around the school for sleeping around, so many assumed that the girls and their families were just trying a ploy to get some silencing money and they weren't really taken seriously. I don't even think any of these cases even went to court."

"Seriously?"

"I'm sorry, Fitz."

Fitz tries at a last resort. "But what if there's physical evidence that it happened? She has a bruise on her face where he hit her. Don't tell me that wouldn't help in some sort of way."

"It could lead to the opening of a case. Has anyone seen her with the bruise? You and her family, at least, I'm guessing have."

"Yes."

"And she told them about how she got it? I haven't heard anything from them yet."

"Well, not exactly. She told them that she banged into a pole or a wall or something. She told me she was embarrassed to tell anyone the truth."

"But she told you?" Bob says with a semi-suspicious look on his face.

Fitz knows what he's thinking and plays it down, using some of the truth. "Yes, I knew her before I started teaching here. We met when we were both vacationing in Hawaii. We chatted a little here and there but that's really all that happened…I guess she just trusts me," Fitz says with a shrug, hoping he sounded convincing enough.

Bob nods acceptingly. "Alright. And you said that you found her at a gas station?"

"Yes, and then I took her home where she then explained to her parents what happened," Fitz explains, hoping he'd be able to make this story work if the police were to ever ask. He knew that he couldn't tell anyone that she spent the night at his house. That would just open up another can of worms.

"Well, if she'd be willing to have a picture taken maybe we could use that as evidence, but I'm afraid they might claim it as circumstantial if the Popes went to court with this, especially with the kind of lawyers the Davises could muster up. They would destroy her. Maybe the best thing for her to do would be to get some counseling or even transfer to another school if it becomes too much. It's a shame that such evil kids can get away with this stuff, but it would be much worse for her and her family if they went after him."

Fitz sighs, feeling like he's failed Olivia. She shouldn't have to transfer to another school to get away from this asshole. "She trusted me with this and I promised her something would be done about it. I promised her that I wouldn't let him hurt or even come near her again. She didn't want it to be known that this happened to her but I thought that all the attention would be worth it if there was a chance of getting him, but I see that there really aren't any."

"It's a very unfortunate situation for Ms. Pope, but I'm afraid that she would just go in the same boat as the other girls before her—as much as I try to stay out of the high school drama, I know the rumors and I've heard some fairly distasteful ones concerning her and how she does get around."

Fitz shakes his head, not wanting to hear anyone bash Olivia. "She may have made some mistakes but she's still a good girl," Fitz tells him confidently but not being so sure of himself inside. He knew she was a good person at heart but he had really only known her for a week, not counting their time in Hawaii. He still had a lot to learn about her, and she had admitted to him that she had slept around before but something told him after this incident, she might change her ways. Whatever she decided to do, she still didn't deserve the slut-shaming or the injustice she was getting because of Edison.

"You're a good guy, Fitz, and it's great to see that you care about your students so much but unless you can think of a way of making Edison pay without it backfiring on the school, there isn't much that can be done. If you're fearful that he might come at her again, maybe her family could file a restraining order. I know that she wants to keep this confidential, but it is necessary for me to notify her parents of the incident if she's under the age of 18."

_Crap._ How could he forget about that? Of course her parents would have to know the truth. "I know, but, wait…please just give me three days to find a way to resolve this before her parents find out. I know that they will have to be notified regardless, but if I can figure out a way, I think it's better for them to know that something can be done than for them to make a big fuss out of it without anything getting done and make this an even more traumatic event for their daughter."

"Fitz, you know I can't—"

"Please, I know that I can do this. I'm not asking for you to break any rules, I'm just asking for a bit of a delay. Three days tops."

Bob stares at him for a long while before letting out a long sigh and saying, "Fine, three days, but if anyone else, including her parents, find out that school knew about this incident and her family wasn't notified, then my ass is going to be in hot water and so will yours. And make sure that this doesn't hurt the school in any way."

Fitz nods. "I promise, and thank you."

"I hope that you can do this. If you do, I'll give you the spot as my favorite stepson," he says with a wink.

Fitz smiles. "Don't tell Harry that. He already thinks that he has one over me because you gave him that old car of yours."

Bob laughs. "We'll see."

The bell to start the day rings and Bob tells Fitz, "Okay, you better get going for you first class. Report back to me in three days if you find anything."

"Will do. Thanks again, Bob."

"You're welcome," he replies and Fitz shuts the door to his office as he leaves.

* * *

><p>Olivia had kept her parents questions to a minimal about the bruise, telling them she had fallen down on the sidewalk somewhere and badly hurt her cheek, a story she had also gotten her friends and classmates to believe..She had managed to make it through her first day at school after the incident relatively fine and she was starting to think that she could eventually move on quickly from what happened, as long as she saw Edison as little as possible but she should've known that she wouldn't be so lucky.<p>

"Hi, Olivia," she hears behind her as she's heading towards her last class of the day. She turns around to see Edison staring back at her with an awkward smile on his face. At first she freezes in place, remembering the awful things he did to her but then she quickly feels anger rising up at the look on his face and the fact that he had the audacity to greet her in this manner.

She continues to stare back at him, fuming as he looks down nervously and shoves his hands in his pockets and says with a little chuckle, "So, about Friday night…things got a little bit out of hand. But it's not something that we can't move past, huh?"

She opens her mouth in shock. He was really going to try to just sweep this under the rug like nothing happened. What did she ever see that was attractive in this asshole? "Is that you're sorry attempt at an apology?"

He furrows his eyebrows at this. "Well, no, I wasn't exactly apologizing because nothing happened."

"Nothing happened?" Olivia exclaims in a hushed voice, struggling to keep composure as she points to the side of her face. "I have a bruise left there by you."

"I hit you by accident. I was drunk, remember? That wasn't on purpose so stop trying to make me look like the bad guy when I'm not," he says, starting to get angry.

"You are a bad guy, you're the worst guy, and I can't wait until you get what you deserve for what you did," she tells him, then turns around and keeps walking to her class.

"Whatever. I'd like to see you try, you stupid bitch," she hears him scoff as he turns to head down the hall but a second later, Olivia hears a loud bang against the lockers and flips around to see Edison being held up against a them by Fitz.

The smug look is immediately wiped off of Edison's face, taken over by pure fright as Fitz holds him by his shirt collar and says with clenched teeth, "I think you better get your ass to class before I smash your face in. And if I ever catch you talking that way to or harassing anyone here, especially Olivia, not even your rich daddy will be able to save you."

He releases Edison who slumps down a little, trying to put on a tough face but it's easy to see he's still shaken.

"What are you still doing here? Get gone," Fitz tells, raising his hand to give a mocking wave making Edison flinch because he probably thought Fitz was going to hit him. _What a wimp_.

He takes off, walking fast down the hall and disappears around the corner. Olivia turns her attention back to Fitz who's still panting hard with an angry expression and she can't help but think about how incredibly sexy he looks at the moment. She shakes the thought from her mind as she walks closer to him.

He lets out one final sigh and looks at her, his face immediately softening. "Are you okay?"

She gives him a small smile and nods. "Yeah, I'm fine." She pauses before continuing, "Thank you, but you shouldn't have done that. You could get in big trouble."

He shakes his head. "I'll be fine. I'm working on something to get Edison out of here for good. If I can help it, hopefully you won't have to ever see him again."

She smiles thankfully at him, thinking that someone like him was too good to be true. He returns the gesture and then they head into his classroom together.

* * *

><p>Two days had gone by faster than Fitz thought they would and now he only had 24 hours to do something about Edison. He had started off by searching for anything he could find about the previous girls Edison had messed with online, but when that attempt came up empty, he looked into Edison's parents—his mom, Sylvia, who was pretty much just a trophy wife, however, her husband Harold seemed to be more of a suspicious character but Fitz hadn't found anything concrete, just a few shady business deals. He didn't know where else to look or what else to do. He wasn't exactly skilled in these kinds of things but he had had faith that he could figure something out. He thinks of one last option but he had wanted to use it at all since it was pretty much illegal and he wasn't even sure it would work, but now it was his only choice.<p>

He picks up his phone, finds the contact that he needs, and clicks on the name.

"Hello," his friend answers.

"Hey, I know that it's been a while but I really need something and I think you're the right guy to help me."

"What's in it for me?"

"Gee, Charlie, at least let me tell you what it is first."

He sighs on the other end. "Fine, what is it?"

"I need you to see if you can get some dirt on someone. Maybe blackmail them, too," Fitz says, feeling guilty about what he's asking his friend to do. He knew that Edison was a dirtbag and from the look of it, his father didn't seem to be so much of a savory character either so maybe Fitz was justified in doing this. Charlie had been one of his party buddies in college and when he wasn't attending MIT for his master's in Computer Science, he hacked anywhere he could get into for sport. Fitz wasn't a big fan of invasions of privacy or using secret information for personal gain, but he thought that the situation granted an exception.

"Oh, you know I love a good blackmail," Charlie says giddily. "Give me the name."

"Harold Davis."

Fitz hears Charlie scoff on the other end, "Don't even need to look him up to know that that guy is dirtier than the Sahara Desert."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that he makes it possible for marijuana to be smuggled across the border in exchange for a piece of the proceeds made when it's sold in the US."

"Do you have any proof?"

"Not at the moment but you know me, I can find anything if it's out there which it is. Give me a few hours."

"Okay, thanks, man, and if you can find anything, I promise I'll find a way to repay you," Fitz says, optimistic that not all hope was lost.

"Mmhmm, you better. I'll call you in a few. Bye."

"Bye." Fitz sighs, falling back onto the couch and feeling like a little bit of the load that he had been carrying for the past two days had been lifted off. If Charlie could come through for them and make things easier on Olivia in any way, he would be forever thankful.

He and Charlie were able to prove that Harold Davis was indeed involved with a drug trade and as a result blackmail him into doing several things. The first was to take Edison out of the school where he would be required to take anger management classes and take a 5 year-break from any sports, this way he wouldn't even have a chance to play in college. At first Fitz had thought transferring to another school and the anger management classes would be sufficient, but he wanted to hit Edison where it hurt by taking away what he loved the most. Mr. Davis had obviously thought that this was an abnormal request and wondered why his son was involved but he went along with whatever they asked, promising to do whatever it took to control his son. The second part of the threat was that $2 million be donated to the school and after that, an annual $50,000, but Charlie had ended up asking for an extra million up front for his own personal gain, much to Fitz is disliking since he didn't want to go too far with the threat and have it backfire, but at least Fitz didn't have to find a way to repay him now. Everything had worked out almost perfectly, Edison hadn't even showed up to school that Thursday and Bob had notified Fitz that the extremely generous donation had already come. But Bob had to inform Olivia's parents about the whole incident and they had of course wanted to press charges, though after Bob had told them that the school had "handled" the issue and Olivia downplayed the incident sufficiently, they eventually dropped it. Olivia had been considerably upset with Fitz when he explained that he had to reveal what happened to Bob and her family because she specifically told him not to and now it was Saturday and she hadn't spoken to him or bothered to show up for their normal morning runs and it was driving him crazy. He knew that he had gone against what she wanted but he had done what he thought was best and he was starting to think that she was being selfish and totally unfair for being angry at him and ignoring him when he had done something so out of his comfort zone for her. He thought that he deserved at least a conversation.

* * *

><p>"What are you even doing with a boy like that, Olivia?" Eli asks. The family had all just finished dinner and Olivia had hoped for a peaceful evening but she knew that would be impossible as soon as her father started asking a bunch of accusatory questions. Her brothers had cleared out of the kitchen and retreated upstairs, not wanting to stick around for the show, and Olivia didn't blame them.<p>

"It's not what you think."

"You give that excuse for everything. For once, tell me the truth."

"I did tell you the truth, I don't know why you won't take my word for it." Olivia had told her father that Edison had gotten drunk while they were at his house alone and he had gotten a little rough with her, but still stuck by her story for the bruise. Her father had believed it at first but over the past three days he had begun to ask more questions which would eventually led to blown up arguments like the one they were having now. "It's not important so just let it go please. Gosh…" she says, feeling like her head was about to explode. She was done talking about this. Why couldn't everyone just let her move on the way she wanted to? First Fitz had gone out of his way to do what she specifically told him not to and now her father wouldn't give her break.

"Drop the attitude because I don't need it. I know that we decided not to go after this Edison Davis but I need to make sure that you're making the right choices in your life and that you're not getting into trouble, especially since you'll be going off to college soon."

She rolls her eyes at this. "I'm fine, Dad."

"We're honestly just trying to help you, Olivia," Becca chimes in.

Olivia loses it at this. "Please, Becca, stay out of this. You're not my mom and you never will fill her place so back off," she tells her off as she grabs her keys off of the kitchen counter and heads for the door.

"Olivia! Where the hell do you think you're going?" Eli asks, marching after her.

"I'm leaving," she tells him, opening the door and stepping out. "I don't want to discuss this anymore, especially with _her_ trying to position herself where she doesn't belong. I'm done."

She didn't know whether or not her father would follow her outside but she doesn't look back to find out. She goes to her and Simon's car on the side of the street, starts it up, and takes off all in less than fifteen seconds. At first, she drives aimlessly, needing a moment to just let herself cool off. She knew she had overreacted and would have to pay for it later but for now she needed a break from it all. She wanted to talk to someone who would stop asking her questions that had 'judgmental' written all over them. She wanted to talk to someone who didn't plan on punishing her no matter what she said. She knew who she wanted to talk to but she wasn't sure he'd feel the same way since she had basically blown him off for these past few days, but she thought it was worth a try to attempt to get back into his good graces.

She makes a quick stop and then heads to his place. She knocks on his door but immediately regrets it, thinking that it was a big mistake coming there in the first place, but as she turns to leave, the door swings open and there stands Fitz, in a simple T-shirt and sweatpants with his hair drenched wet, probably from a shower by the soapy scent his body is emitting. Could he go a day without looking absolutely sexy?

"Hi," she says in a small voice.

"Hi," he mumbles, not bothering to even look in her direction as he gazes out to the rest of the neighborhood with his mouth in a straight line. Of course he was pissed. He normally gave her his undivided attention, but now he was barely acknowledging her presence and it hurt more than she imagined it would.

"What are you doing here, Olivia?" He asks with an annoyed sigh. He only called her Olivia during class—outside of that it was always 'Liv' or 'Livvie'.

"I-I was just coming by to—I wanted to…" She doesn't know what to tell him that won't end up with the door being slammed in her face. She had thought that he would just welcome her in at least but he had more dignity than that.

"I don't know…I bought some food—McDonald's," she says, holding up the bag of food and his drink. "You told me you liked McDonald's so I got you a cheeseburger combo with a strawberry shake. I personally love the strawberry shakes so that's why I got it for you—"

"Your point, please?" He says bluntly.

She freezes at his coldness, knowing that she really messed up as tears sting the edge of her eyes. She looks down, mustering up the strength to say, "I don't have a point. I'm sorry for bothering you…"

With that, she turns around and walks back to her car slowly, and when she hears him shut the door, the tears start flowing freely. She had been so stupid, ruining the best relationship she had ever had in her life with the best guy in the world over something that seemed so trivial now. All he had wanted to do is help her and he had and in return she hadn't even given him so much as a 'thank you'.

She sits in her car, wanting to get going but she doesn't know where to go. She had never felt more alone in this moment. She's about to start the car and just drive until she gets tired when she hears a knock on the glass window on the passenger's side. "Open the door."

Her mouth gapes open as she stares at him in shock and he knocks again, saying, "Liv."

He was calling her 'Liv' again. She unlocks the door and Fitz slides in, taking a seat in the passenger's and shutting the door. They sit in a silence which she pins as awkward but he seems to be just fine as he turns on the heater and even the radio, adjusting it to a low volume.

"Why did you come out here?" She finally asks him in a gruff voice. "I thought I was wasting your time."

"You'll never be a waste of my time, Liv." She looks at him, confused at his sudden change of heart as he asks, "Why're you crying?"

"No reason," she mumbles.

"You don't cry for no reason."

"What do you want me to say, Fitz?" She asks, starting to become aggravated again.

"I want you to say what you feel."

She sighs deeply before saying, "I've just had a rough night and I came here because…because I wanted to talk to you but—"

"What?"

"But you were acting all cold towards me. You wouldn't give me a chance to explain anything and I thought that you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore, so I left and here I am, crying in my car with you bearing as a witness."

"Why would you think I wouldn't want to have anything to do with you?"

"Because I ignored you after what you did for me and I know that you're angry which is why you didn't invite me inside, so I thought that we were done."

"Just because I'm angry doesn't mean that I won't come after you. But now you know how I felt after you blew me off for three days after all I did for you. I know that you didn't like me telling anyone else about what happened but I felt it was necessary. I'm sorry if it caused you any strife with your parents but I really did have your best interests at heart."

"I know and I'm sorry for being a selfish idiot."

"Don't call yourself that. But next time, just don't jump to conclusions. Try and hear me out first, okay?"

She nods. "Okay. And thank you for taking care of Edison. No one's ever done anything like that for me."

He smiles at her. "You're welcome. Now, no more crying," he says, reaching over and wiping her cheeks with his thumb. "I don't like seeing you sad. And it's hard to properly enjoy a good McDonald's meal when you're sad—or any meal for that manner."

She chuckles at this as he reaches for the bag and takes out its contents. As he starts to split the burger in half, she stops him, "You don't have to do that. I bought that for you."

"I want to share it with you." He hands her her half and places the fries on the center console.

"Here's to us," he says, raising his half of the burger. She laughs as she clinks hers with his and they both take a bite. It was amazing how just being around him had the ability to make her feel exponentially better.

**I hope you enjoyed this. Did you like how Fitz handled Edison? Did Olivia overreact to how he handled it? Did you like Olitz's car scene ; ) ? Other thoughts? Have a blessed day and remember to be thankful. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Breaking Hearts

**Hope you enjoy this chapter...it's a little sad but I believe that there is always hope when it comes to Olitz. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9: Breaking Hearts**

"You asked to see me, Bob," Fitz says, popping his head into the office.

"Ah, yes, Fitz, have a seat." Fitz sits down, starting to get a little nervous about why he was there as Bob stares back at him with a slightly upset expression. Hopefully something hadn't gone wrong with the whole Edison Davis situation. He knew that what he and Charlie had done was risky and even weeks later he had Charlie keeping a close eye on the Davises to make sure that nothing fishy was going on.

Bob folds his hands on the desk as he starts, "First, I hope you know that I'm not trying to accuse you of anything in case my suspicions are completely wrong and I'm already trying to give you the benefit of the doubt since you're family, so I need you to answer me this as honestly as you can."

Fitz nods slowly, wondering what the hell he was about to be asked. Bob sighs deeply then asks with an even voice, "Are you involved in a romantic relationship with Olivia Pope?"

Fitz blinks several times, furrowing his eyebrows at Bob, thinking he misheard him. "Excuse me?"

"I asked if you are in a romantic relationship with Olivia Pope, the student of yours that so graciously helped when she had been mistreated by Edison Davis."

Fitz shakes his head, struggling to stay calm as he responds, "No. Why do you ask?"

Bob seems less than convinced as he says, "I'm pretty positive that I saw you and Ms. Pope getting rather close as you shared a hug and left the school together in your car. I may be jumping to conclusions but I need you to tell me the truth."

Fitz keeps perfect eye contact but he can feel his heart beating out of his chest as he remembers the day before. "No, I'm not involved with her romantically. I would never take advantage of any of my students. If you want to know why we left together, it's because I was taking her to her job at Barnes and Noble. Her brothers normally drop her off but they were both stuck in sports practice so she asked me if I could take her. As for the hug, that was just a friendly greeting. I'm sorry if my actions were inappropriate but that's all that happened. You can ask her yourself, " Fitz says honestly. He knew that he and Olivia were getting too comfortable around each other and as a result hadn't been careful enough when they were public. He honestly hated having to sneak around with her, especially when the stakes were so high and as much as he enjoyed spending time with her, he knew that just their friendship would be seen as inappropriate to anyone else. They couldn't keep doing this.

He nods. "Okay, I believe you. I thought I might have been blowing things out of proportion but I just wasn't sure since you were so insistent on helping her during the Edison situation, but I know that you're really just a good guy. Be careful, though. I know that you're just being friendly but you have to know where to draw the line. Consider this as just a tap on the wrist."

Fitz nods, thankful that this didn't go as bad as it could have.

"Now for the real reason I asked you into my office—I have some good news for you."

* * *

><p>Olivia normally didn't work on Thursdays but Cyrus had asked her to fill in for another employee for a couple hours so she didn't think it was big deal since she was also getting paid. She had asked Fitz earlier that afternoon if he wanted to go out and eat dinner that night like they normally did and he had agreed so around 7pm he would come and pick her up. Although he never showed it, sometimes she thought that he was getting tired of going out every other night with her, especially since he always paid, so tonight she was going to surprise him and force him to let her pay, if that made any sense. Just as she's thinking about this, he walks in an hour early. She takes him in dressed casually in a blue flannel shirt and some jeans, and loves how no matter what he wears he always looks fantastic. "You're early," she says as he walks up to the counter.<p>

He nods slightly, glancing away from her. "I know…"

"So, I have 40 bucks and I'm paying for dinner tonight whether you like it or not. Where do you want to go?"

He sighs. "Liv…I'm sorry but we shouldn't keep doing this."

She was right—he thought that their dinners were getting old. "You mean going out to dinner? I'm sorry, I thought you might be getting tired of it…"

"No, that's not it."

She creases her eyebrows. "What do you mean, then?"

"I mean, this—us hanging out together outside school…it's not appropriate. I'm your teacher and you're my student and I think it's best that we limit our relationship to those respective titles," he says dryly, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Did I do something to make you suddenly feel this way?" She asks, feeling like maybe she was being too clingy and he was saying this because he needed some space.

He shakes his head quickly. "No, it's nothing you did, this is actually my fault. I should've been more responsible. We were seen by the principal hugging and leaving the school together in my car yesterday and this afternoon after school he brought me into his office because he expected something was going on between us."

"But there isn't—we're just friends."

"I know, but, you know he's not going to accept that as an explanation, Liv, especially after what he just saw. What we're doing just isn't right—you shouldn't be showing up at my house whenever and I shouldn't be picking you up from school or work and taking you out to eat, we could be seen by anyone who would take it the wrong way."

She sighs, thinking about how unfair this all was. "I know…it seems wrong but this really sucks because I don't see us that way."

"I'm sorry, Liv, I'm really, really sorry," he tells her with earnest eyes.

"So, this means that we can't hang out outside of school at all?" She asks dreadfully, knowing the answer.

He nods subtly. "It would be too risky if we were seen by anyone outside of a school setting. As long as I'm your teacher we can't do this."

She nods acceptingly. This was disappointing but she remembers that all isn't quite lost with them. "But we can when you're not teaching at the school anymore in three months, right?"

He gives her an uncertain expression. "I don't know…"

She squints her eyes at him in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"I just don't want to get your hopes up…teaching has been really good for me and when I was called in to speak with Principal Parks today, he informed me that there might be another position open for next semester."

"And you want to take it…" she guesses.

He slowly nods. "Yes. I think that it would be a good opportunity."

"Okay. Then, take it," she says tersely, turning away from him and starting to organize things on the desk.

He raises his eyebrows at her. "That's it? I thought you'd be happy for me."

"I am happy for you," she mumbles.

"It doesn't seem like it. You know, you can be really selfish sometimes," he tells her as he walks away from the counter towards the door.

She stops what she's doing, knowing she was being unfair. _There I go acting like a total bitch again_. "Wait, Fitz…" she calls as she quickly goes after him. He stops and turns around, annoyance evidently written on his face.

"Look, I'm sorry. I really am happy for you. You're a great teacher and if there's another job opening for you, you should take it. It doesn't matter what I think. I'm sorry for acting like a brat. I know that we can't hang out like we do now anymore and…it's okay. You need to do what's best for you," she forces herself to say. There's no way she wouldn't support him in anything she knew he would excel at, even if it meant the end of their relationship for now—she cared too much about him.

He gives her a small smile. "Thanks for understanding. I hope you know that this doesn't change how I feel about you and us. I—" He stops himself, making Olivia wonder what he was going to say as he continues, "If only we had met under different circumstances."

She nods, feeling like a piece of her was being ripped away. They weren't even dating but now she had a pretty good idea of how a break-up felt. She asks one last request of him, "One minute?"

He smiles and responds without hesitation, "One minute."

He takes her into his arms and they both hug each other tight, using those 60 seconds up to the fullest. She bites her lip to keep from getting emotional, at least until after he leaves. She had known from the start that they wouldn't work out, there were too many obstacles in the way but she had had hope regardless because she felt something so strongly for him. She had never been in love before so she didn't know if it was a crush or in fact love but she knew for sure that he had left his mark on her.

As they pull apart, she almost opens her mouth to tell him that she'll wait for him but she doesn't want to seem too clingy or insecure and she didn't want to hold him to anything in case he didn't feel the same way months from now.

They stare into each other's eyes and for a split second she feels that same connection they held in Hawaii but he looks away. He opens his mouth to say something but decides against it at the last second, instead he places a cursory kiss on her forehead then turns around and leaves her feeling emptier than ever before.

"Hmm, the bf finally visited you at work. He's very handsome, by the way," Cyrus tells her, dutifully walking by her.

"He's not my boyfriend, Cy." _But I wish he was_.

"Could've fooled me, but I'm not paying you to mess around with boy toys, Pope. Get back to work," he tells her in his best attempt at a foreboding voice.

She rolls her eyes, not in the zone to joke back and heads back behind the counter where a customer is approaching.

* * *

><p>Olivia had tried her best to stay positive and keep her chin up in the following weeks but things just weren't the same without Fitz. She had hoped she would at least see him on the same route during her now lonely morning run, but after two weeks of looking out for him and even trying out different running times, she came to the conclusion that he had changed his route or started going to the gym instead. There would be no loopholes in their new agreement.<p>

She tried going out with her friends more often and even tried spending more time with her family but she just felt incomplete, like there was a hole inside her that wouldn't stop nagging her until it was filled up again. However, she was doing a pretty good job of hiding her emptiness—she smiled, she laughed, she played her part well in all the different areas of her life, but one person she hadn't expected had seen right through it.

"You seem kinda sad lately," Kenny tells her as they work on a project for English class. She normally would've paired up with Abby but she had somehow managed to swindle her way into working with Simon. It was alright because Olivia liked working with Kenny—he was funny, he didn't get distracted nearly as much as Abby did, and he actually contributed to the project and didn't make Olivia do all the work. "Has Mother Nature come around for her monthly visit or something?"

She glares at him. "Kenny, I'm going to give you some very important piece of advice right now, so listen up. Never ask another female if she's on her period when she's being moody unless you want your balls smashed up your ass."

He frowns. "I'll try to remember that…but you do seem a little down."

"I'm not sad, I just have a lot going on. Really I'm fine," she assures him.

He nods, changing the subject, "So, do you have a date for homecoming?"

She shakes her head. "Nah, I'll probably just tag along with our friend group. Having a date is overrated. How about you?"

He shrugs. "I don't know, I was thinking about asking this girl but I'm not sure she would be interested."

"Why not? You're a catch," she says, nudging him playfully.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, you're smart, fun, and handsome. And most importantly, you're not a douchebag like most of the guys at this school."

"'Not a douchebag', it's nice to know that that's my most important quality."

She rolls her eyes with a short laugh and she's about to say something more when Fitz's voice booms from the front of the room, "Everyone needs to quiet down or else I'm going to have you all work by yourselves!"

Olivia continues to look at Fitz as he exhales sharply, tossing his pen onto his desk and making eye contact with her, glaring at both her and Kenny.

"I wonder why Mr. Grant is acting all strict all of a sudden. He used to be kind of cool…" Kenny says. She finally gazing away from Fitz's angry stare.

Olivia shrugs and says plainly, "I don't know." She also noticed Fitz had been becoming progressively moody lately. He wasn't quite acting like a total Grinch, but before it used to be enjoyable to be in his class, he made their sometimes monotonous topics interesting but now he was just like every other teacher of hers. It's like he wasn't even trying anymore and she knew it had to do with them breaking off their friendship a few weeks ago. She knew he had been upset, but she had never thought in her wildest dreams that he'd be just as miserable as or even more miserable than her. It still perplexed her that someone as good as him would've wanted anything to do with her in the first place. During their friendship, she wondered why he cared so much about her—some stranger he had met on vacation in the summer. But she felt the same way about him, too. She was drawn to him for some weird reason and because of that she was willing to do whatever would make him happy, even if it meant putting off a possible relationship between them for a while. _But is he even happy now? _She just hoped that he wouldn't forget about her or leave her behind once they were free to do whatever they wanted—that would devastate her. He truly was the best friend she had ever had.

The following morning had been one of her weirder ones. When she showed up to school, her friends were tiptoeing around her and giving her somewhat creepy smiles whenever they saw her and would hush up whenever she came around. She had a feeling that what they were hiding wasn't bad but that still didn't keep her from getting nervous. As she was walking down the hall before her first class, she passes by Fitz who has a total 180 with his attitude and is now in a good mood as he gives her a polite smile and greeting, making her wonder if everyone's strange behavior had anything to do with him but she doubted it.

As she enters her first class, on her desk is a single red rose with a piece of paper elegantly wrapped around it and when she picks it up, she figures out exactly what's going on. On the piece of paper is the word 'Will' in fancy writing and by the time she makes it to lunch, she has four more roses with the words 'you' 'go' 'to'. She knew she was getting asked to homecoming but she didn't know who'd want to ask her and none of her friends were letting up about who it might be.

"You're just going to have to wait for the grand finale in seventh period, Liv, 'cause I ain't sayin' nothing," Abby said to her at lunch.

"I don't want to go out with anyone," Olivia had told her, annoyed with the whole situation.

"Don't be such a priss. Just because this person is asking you to homecoming doesn't mean you guys have to be a thing. Just go with it—he's a really sweet guy."

So, she decided to just go with it. She could always say no, anyways. As she makes it to her last class of the day, even though she tries to act indifferent, her nerves are getting to her. Abby told her that the person was in their English class and would ask her right before class began. Olivia has a few guesses—her sophomore year she had a crush on Josh Simmons who was aware of her feelings about him but that was two years ago and they had both moved on. Kenny had also hinted at something the day before but was he talking about her? She gets her answer when she walks into the classroom and sees Kenny smiling widely at her as he stands by her desk, holding a bouquet of roses and wearing a sweatshirt with 'ME?' in giant letters.

Everyone begins to clap and catcall as she slowly walks over to him, feeling her cheeks getting warm at all the attention. She glances to the front of the room and sees Fitz clapping along with everyone else and smiling, but she knew him well and could see that it was forced. She looks away from him and forces a smile of her own as Kenny holds out the bouquet of roses to her and asks, "So, will you?"

The whole class falls quiet as they wait for her answer, making Olivia even more nervous. She wasn't attracted to Kenny romantically—there was already someone else that had her whole heart and she had a feeling that he wasn't happy about this whole display even though he had let her go. But Abby was right—just because she and Kenny went to the dance together didn't mean that they had to be a thing. People went as friends all the time and she would make it clear to him that that's all she wanted. Besides, she could use a little cheering up.

She smiles, nodding at him as she takes the roses. "Yes."

The whole class erupts into another wave of cheers as she and Kenny hug each other and a few people, including Abby take pictures.

"Only you could manage to find a shirt like this. You never cease to surprise me," she tells Kenny, laughing.

"I knew you'd love it!" he says with a wide cheesy grin. She looks back at the front of the room, expecting Fitz to start telling everyone to quiet down but he's nowhere to be seen.

**Poor Fitz. Do you think Fitz made the right decision in cutting personal ties with Liv? How long do you think that will hold up ; )? How do you think Fitz will handle Liv with Kenny? Other thoughts? Btw this isn't the reason they broke up for good...we still have some ways to go. Thanks for reading!**


	10. If It Makes You Happy

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10: If It Makes You Happy**

_If it makes you happy  
>It can't be that bad<br>If it makes you happy  
>Then why the hell are you so sad?<br>— _If It Makes You Happy by Sheryl Crow

That was his third shot now, on top of the scotch that he had downed when he first arrived there, and he was finally starting to feel the loopy effects—and it felt great. It numbed the pain he had been harboring since earlier that afternoon. He couldn't believe that he was jealous over some silly high school boy but he was. Just seeing him hug her and that smile she gave him when he handed the roses to her, ignited something in him that he'd never felt before. Did he love her? He felt that he had some kind of hold over her since she once been almost his but he had let her go because it wouldn't work, even once she was eighteen. And he knew that she wouldn't want to wait for them to be together once school ended—she had to enjoy her life too and maybe she was better off with someone her own age.

"Yo, Fitz, stop it with all that scholarly thinking and join the party! We got you buzzed for a reason," Charlie calls as he, Harrison, and their other friend Jon play some pool.

He fakes a smile and goes over to them, taking a cue in hand and aiming it at one of the balls on the table but missing terribly, making his friends burst out in laughter.

He groans. "Screw this. You guys know that I can't focus properly on the ball when I'm intoxicated. Just leave me alone," he tells them, going back to the bar and ordering a beer.

"You can't drink all of your troubles with those snotty kids away, bro," Harrison yells back at him.

Fitz waves his hand dismissively at him and mumbles, "Watch me," as he takes a long swig of the beer.

About ten minutes later, as he's sitting at the bar watching football on one of the plastered screens when he hears a woman call his name, "Fitz, I mean, Mr. Grant?"

He turns as a familiar-looking brunette with glasses sits next to him with a nervous smile on her face, stammering as she says, "Um, I-I don't know what you like to go by but I figured since we were outside of school I could call you Fitz…can I call you Fitz?"

"And who are you?" He asks, trying to place where he knows her from.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't sure if you would recognize me—it's Mellie, well, Ms. Brooklyn at the high school. I'm one of the Algebra and Geometry teachers."

"Oh. Yeah, I know you," he lies, giving her a lazy smile. "Do you come here often?"

"No, not really, but it's been a hectic week so I just thought I'd get a few drinks and wind down."

He nods. "This week has sucked for me, too, but there's nothing that a nice scotch can't cure. Do you want me to order you one?"

"Uh, yeah-yes, sure," she says, stumbling over her words again. Fitz doesn't know why he's being so nice to her, since she wasn't really the type of girl he would pick up and take home when he used to go out to clubs a lot but he figures that the abundance of alcohol and his sadness is clouding his judgment. Nevertheless, he orders the drink for her and they spend the rest of the evening at the bar.

* * *

><p>Olivia only had a week left to go dress shopping but she had waited until the last minute because it was the only time her mom would be available. They hadn't done anything together in the longest time and Olivia thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to do something together. She had really missed spending time with her.<p>

"Hello," her mom answers.

"Hey, mom."

"Olivia! How's my baby?"

She smiles at her mom's happy tone. "I'm good, but I wanted to know when you're coming to pick me up?"

"Pick you up? For what?"

Olivia furrows her eyebrows, hoping her mom didn't forget. "Remember last week I called you so that you could take me dress shopping for the homecoming dance and you said you would?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, baby, but I can't. Didn't I tell you that I was flying out of the country for business this weekend?"

"No," she answers tersely.

"Well, again, I'm sorry but I can't take you. Why don't you ask your dad?"

"I'm not asking dad to take me dress shopping. This is like the tenth time you've cancelled on me, mom, you promised," she tells her, hoping she would change her mind but it doesn't work. She never changed her mind.

"I know, but I made a mistake scheduling both things on one weekend. How about next weekend?"

"The dance is next weekend. You know what, it's fine. I'll just ask Abby instead," Olivia says, getting fed up.

"Okay, then, baby. I have to go now but have fun. Bye."

Olivia doesn't even say bye and instead ends the call and tosses her phone on her bed. _Why do I even try_? She hadn't even seen her mom in over a year because of the same lousy excuses she continued to give her every time Olivia wanted to do something with her. The first few times, Olivia had been understanding because she knew her mom was a workaholic and was always travelling, so Olivia made it a point to schedule things way ahead of time but her mom still found a way to wiggle her way out of every activity. Her brothers had already accepted that she didn't want anything to do with them but it was harder for Olivia since they used to be so close, then after the divorce she started drifting away until she just stopped even making an effort to see any of her kids. Now Olivia was wondering if she should stop trying to make an effort as well.

She grabs her phone and goes down to the kitchen to get a snack and call Abby about dress shopping. She was pretty positive that she hadn't bought a dress yet either since she would've been raving about it at school. Her father and Becca stride in to the kitchen together as Olivia calls her but she's surprised when Abby tells her that she's flying out to New York that afternoon to go visit a sick relative and will go dress shopping there as well. Olivia hangs up and sighs frustrated, mumbling, "Why is everyone rejecting me today?"

"If you want, I could take you dress shopping," Becca offers with a small smile.

"No, it's alright…"

"Actually, I think that it would be great for you two gals to go together," Eli chimes in. _Did he really just call us gals_? "I'm going to take the boys out a little later so maybe you two should as well."

"Dad—"

"You guys are going together, Olivia, whether you like it or not," he tells her sternly. Twenty minutes later, Olivia and Becca are on their way downtown to where all the nice dress shops are. Olivia is grateful that they didn't have to make conversation during the drive since Becca was on the phone with someone from work but that changes once she ends the call and the enter the first store.

"So…tell me about this Kenny fellow. Simon told me about how he asked you to homecoming and he seems to be quite the charmer," she says with a wink, as she they both look through a rack.

"Yeah, he's alright," she says dryly. "But we came here for the dresses, not to discuss my date so could we stick to that, please?"

Becca nods subtly. "Yeah, sorry."

Olivia sighs, feeling slightly bad for her bitchiness but not bad enough to apologize.

"So, is there anything specific you're looking for?" Becca asks.

Olivia shrugs. "Just an evening gown."

Becca nods. "Okay, and how about color? I personally think that you'd look best in red, black, or white," she says happily.

"Yeah, whatever," Olivia agrees, not really caring about what color the dress was as long as it looked good on her.

"I agree," says one of the clerks who was helping out other girls with the same purpose around the store. "I'm guessing you two are searching for a homecoming dress?"

Olivia nods but Becca answers, "Mmhmm, she's a senior and this is her last homecoming, not to mention she has a date this year, so we want to make sure that she has the perfect dress."

"Oh, well, congrats on all of that," the woman says, smiling courteously.

"Thanks," Olivia mumbles.

"If you'll follow me, I have a few dresses in mind that you might like." Olivia tries on all of the dresses and models them out for Becca but they both agree that none of them really fit her right. Some were too puffy, some she thought made her look fat, and some were just too busy.

"Maybe we should just try a different place," she says, needing a short break from all the changing in and out of dresses.

"Wait, try this. I think this might be the one even though it's still a little early on to tell, but just give it a shot," Becca says, holding out the dress.

"Alright," Olivia quickly takes it into the dressing room and changes and once she sees how it looks on her, she knows that it's the one.

It was a long, strapless black gown with a leg slit that went up to her lower thigh and hugged her body perfectly. She steps out and models the dress for Becca and she can't help but smile at how great it feels.

"Do you like it?" Becca asks timidly.

"I love it! Thanks…" Olivia tells her with coy smile. Maybe she wasn't that bad—at least she knew how to pick out a great dress.

"You're welcome. You look gorgeous. Do you think this is the one?"

She nods. "I do, but it's a little risky with the leg slit. I don't know if my dad will let me get away with it," she says, knowing that her father had a tendency to be a little more critical of the way she dressed with her being his only daughter.

"Since when do you listen to what anyone says?" she asks with a knowing look.

Olivia rolls her eyes with a short laugh. "You have a point but do you really think he'll be fine with it?"

"I think so, but if not, I'll make sure he gets on board. There's no way I'm letting him make you give up this dress. It looks too good on you."

Olivia changes out of the dress and they go to check out but when she pulls out her money to pay for the dress, Becca hands the clerk her credit card.

"You don't need to do that, I have enough money to pay. I've been saving up," Olivia tells her. The dress was a bargain at $90 but Olivia had brought along a few hundred from her savings and Christmas and birthday money gifts.

"I know, but I want to pay. Don't worry about it," Becca says with a simple smile, as the clerk hands the dress to them in a garment bag.

As they drive back home, Olivia can't help but feel a little down. She had found the perfect dress, she had a nice date, but she couldn't help but imagine the fantasy of Fitz being her date of the evening. She imagined how dashing and sexy he would look in a black tux with his hair gelled to perfection except for his stubborn Superman curl. She imagined how good it would feel to slow dance in his strong arms. She had thoughts like this of him everyday and she hated and loved it at the same time. She hated how much of a strong hold he had on her and she was angry at him for letting her go but no matter how hard she tried to move on it was nearly impossible. And she loved it because he had been the first person in a long time who had seen her and understood her and she couldn't deny the strong feelings she had for him. Did she love him?

"Thinking about what your Mr. Handsome will think of you in your dress?" Becca says, with a knowing smile.

"Something like that…"

* * *

><p>Fitz is sitting at home on a Wednesday night, catching up on some dread grading. He was reading over essays of his students, some who had tried to do well but just couldn't quite the main point of the assignment and some just hadn't tried at all. The best were from the two Popes. Simon's had been great as usual and he had just finished reading Olivia's essay and he had to say that hers was by far the best, not because of his former personal ties with her, but because she was just that good. He loved her insight and different ways of tackling a subject. She was so intelligent even though she told him she would probably end up just going to a local community college because she had let her grades fall in the past few years and she felt they weren't good enough for her to get into a good school, but so many other factors went into the college application process and he didn't doubt that she could go anywhere she wanted, especially with her smarts. He gives her a 100 percent and is about to add in some creditable notes when his phone rings.<p>

It's an unknown number but he still answers. "Hello."

"Hi, Fitz. It's Mellie," says the high-pitched, chipper voice on the other end. He doesn't remember giving her his number before he left with the guys but he guesses that he must've while he was drunk. He groans out but realizes that she could easily hear him and makes an attempt to turn the sound into a cough as he responds in a plain tone, "Hey, Mellie. What's up?"

"Well, I think that we really hit it off the other night and I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go out on a date Saturday night, say 7?" She asks. He remembered that they had enjoyed a few drinks and had a few laughs that Friday night but he had only been so nice and open with her because he was lonely and she was there. He had no interest in her and now he was hating himself for getting her hopes up and most of all giving her his phone number in the first place.

"Uh…" He starts to say as his phone beeps, alerting him that he has an incoming call from Bob. "Just a sec, Mellie."

He switches to Bob's call, ever thankful and answers. "Hey."

"Hey, Fitz. I was just calling to ask a favor of you."

"Yeah, anything."

"Well, now that you say that, how would you feel about chaperoning the school dance on Saturday?"

"Hmm, I don't know, Bob…" He didn't want to go to the dance and have to watch Olivia and Kenny have the time of their lives on the dance floor as he stood by enviously, but at the same time he really didn't want to go on this date with Mellie and even though he could give her just any excuse, if he told her he would be at the dance, he at least had a justifiable reason.

"Oh, come on, Fitz. It won't be that bad, just a few hours. One of the teachers just said he wouldn't be able to make it and I really need someone else so that the teachers already signed up don't get too overwhelmed. Plus, I've heard that a lot of the senior class likes you as a teacher and will most likely listen to you if anything gets out of control. Please."

Fitz sighs. "Yeah, alright, I'll do it."

"Thanks."

He ends the call and switches back to Mellie. "Sorry about that, Mellie. And I actually can't go out on a date with you because I have to be on teacher duty at the dance Saturday night."

"Oh…I would say we should do something in the afternoon but I have to take my two cats to a check-up appointment at the vet…" she says disappointedly.

Fitz smirks at the mention of her taking her cats to appointments and says seriously, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Maybe another time?"

"Maybe another time," he reluctantly agrees.

"Okay, have fun at the dance. Bye, Fitz."

"Goodbye, Mellie."

* * *

><p>By seven o' clock the night of the dance Olivia was ready. She had put on her dress, done her make-up, and let Becca handle her hair and during that time she had managed not to make a snappy comment. They were making progress. She's about to head downstairs where she had heard her father and Kenny talking for the past ten minutes and she could tell that her father was especially pleased by the fact that Kenny came to pick her up from the house like a gentleman. She finally starts down the stairs slowly and takes in Kenny at the bottom of the stairs who stops talking as soon as he sees her. His eyes and mouth gape open and for a second he's speechless before he finally says, "You look amazing."<p>

Her brothers Matt and Simon are also there, dressed in the tuxedos that their father made them both buy. Matt makes a gagging sound as he points up to her and she flips him off, earning a disapproving look from her father but it doesn't stay for long as he grins up at his beautiful daughter.

She smiles kindly at Kenny as she makes it to the bottom of the stairs. "You look great yourself," she says to him. He did look pretty handsome in a black tux and bow tie.

"Okay, picture time," Becca says, ushering them over to in front of the fireplace. Olivia and Kenny take a few pictures together before makes the three siblings do a many together as she constantly rearranges them. By the end of it, Olivia has just about had it but then Kenny leans in and tells her that they have to stop by his parents because they'd ground him for year if they didn't get pictures of their own.

They soon leave her house and head over to Kenny's, where she gets to meet his parents who are just as eccentric as their son and make Olivia feel like a member of the family in almost no time. After about 8 billion pictures more, she and Kenny are finally able to head over to the dance. They meet Abby and her date, along with Huck and Quinn who decided to come as each other's dates, in front of the school and then they all head into the gym together.

* * *

><p>Fitz had been messing around on his phone for the past thirty minutes, acting like he was interested in the topic his fellow teacher and parent chaperones were discussing when he rather be anywhere else. Bob had told him that he needed to be there in case anything went sour with the kids but he'd been there for an hour already and nothing outlandish had happened.<p>

He didn't think that his night could get any worse but he's wrong as he looks towards the entrance of the gym and sees Olivia walk in on Kenny's arm. He wants to look away but he can't even think straight at the sight of her in a strapless black gown that made her look like a runway model. He scans her flawless leg that's peaking its way through the dress's long leg slit. His mouth waters at her Marilyn Monroe-esque rosy red lips and her gorgeous hair that fell into big, flowing waves past her shoulders. How could anyone look so perfect?

He continues to watch her as she and Kenny converse with their friends and then hit the dance floor together. Fitz feels his heart breaking piece by piece and his jealous quickly building up as she grinds on Kenny and what irritated Fitz the most was that the kid didn't even know what he was doing! He was doing some weird thing with his hips so it looked like he was having a spasm. Olivia sees that he's not quite getting the hang of it and turns around, laughing at him as she puts her arms around his neck and simplifies the dance to a simple bouncing around. If Fitz was dancing with her he would give her the time of her life and much more. The song soon changes to a popular slow dance song as those without dates quickly disperse of the floor. Fitz watches as Olivia stares serenely into Kenny's eyes and then leans on his shoulder as they sway to the music. She looked happy and peaceful and while he was at least glad for that, he couldn't stand seeing her in someone else's arms. He quickly excuses himself from the other teachers, saying he had to go fetch something out of his car even though he has no intention of coming back until the dancing is over and he exits the gym.

* * *

><p>As Olivia and Kenny sway to the music, Olivia thinks about the miserable look on Fitz's face as he looked out onto the dancing crowd. She wondered what he was even doing here since school dances didn't seem to be his thing and he hadn't seemed to fake his happiness at seeing her with Kenny. As they danced, she could feel his eyes trained on her the whole time but she wasn't going to try to lessen her enjoyment to fit his liking—it's not like he had strong enough feelings for her fight for their relationship anyway.<p>

"Whatcha thinking about?" Kenny asks her.

"Oh, nothing," she says, shaking her head and smiling subtly at him. He seemed like he was going to say something more but he instead stares at her for a long moment before closing his eyes and leaning in slowly. She lets him kiss her, not exactly returning the gesture because it just didn't feel right to her. She didn't have feelings for him this way and she didn't know why he was trying to take them to this stage when she had never insinuated any interest in him before.

He pulls away from her and says shakily, "I-I know we said that we were going to this thing as friends but…just seeing you tonight and spending this time with you has made me realize just how much I have feelings for you. I really like you, Olivia," he tells her with a timid smile.

She opens her mouth, trying to let him down easy but doesn't know what to say without hurting his feelings and ruining the night for the both of them. She forces a smile and whispers, "Me, too," to him, instantly regretting it, knowing that she's misleading him and that this would most likely end badly. He grins at her, pecking her lips one more time and then continuing to dance.

* * *

><p>Fitz wakes up two hours later, hearing a loud sound in the distance. He looks outside and sees students heading towards their cars in the distance. While most of the students parked in front of the gym, he had parked in a slightly secluded place behind the school where the teachers usually kept their cars in an effort to keep his from getting scratched from any drunk on fun kids. He turns the music down and gets out of the car, needing some fresh air before he goes back into the school to make it look like he hadn't ditched the rest of the chaperones.<p>

He gets out of his car, yawning and stretching and when he looks up, he sees Olivia about thirty feet away, standing by herself in front of the gym. They make eye contact and not knowing what else to do, he smiles and waves at her. She does the same and then looks away but after several moments she starts towards him. He both dreaded and was excited by her coming over to him. She was the reason he had gone outside in the first place but she was like a drug and he couldn't get enough of her even if it hurt.

"Hi," he says, noticing how much more gorgeous she looked up close.

"Hi," she responds coyly, glancing away from him. He remembered when they were so close that she would hug him without a second thought but now it felt like there was a million miles in between them. Had he made a mistake cutting off their friendship?

"You look…beautiful," he tells her, making her look up at him as her breath hitches. Maybe all wasn't lost. He still had this effect on her, maybe she still had feelings for him.

"Thanks," she says with a timid smile.

"So, why're you waiting outside by yourself?"

"Kenny couldn't find the car and my feet were killing me so he had me wait in front of the school while he searched."

Fitz nods, not knowing what else to say but not wanting her to leave quite yet. He's about to ask her about her evening when she says, "This is our song—well, the song we danced to in Hawaii."

Fitz realizes that he forgot to turn his radio off and listens as Journey's "Faithfully" plays softly. He smiles at the memory. "Yeah, I know." Before he can stop himself, he says the first thing that comes to his mind which was also what he had asked her back in Hawaii. "Do you want to dance?"

She raises her eyebrows at him. "Are you crazy? Anyone could see us…I thought that you didn't want that to happen," she says with a tinge of spite.

"Not here," he says, gesturing to the other side of the car. He walks over and she surprisingly follows him. He looks at her with earnest eyes as he takes her hand. "Can it just be me and you? No teacher, no student, just Olivia and Fitz for two minutes."

She stares long and hard into his eyes and he can see her barriers quickly breaking down as she nods. She steps into his arms, positioning one hand on his shoulder blade and matching the other with his palm, intertwining their fingers. He places his hand on her lower back and begins to sway them to the music. He feels so much calmer with her in his arms—he loves the feeling of her soft, dainty hand in his, her wonderful scent, the feeling of her leaning into his chest, her warmth, and most of all the matching of their beating hearts. He's never wanted her more in this moment.

He hangs his head down into her shoulder, resting his cheek against hers. He brushes his lips against her bare shoulder, causing her to shiver and before he knows it, a simple brush turns into a feathery kiss which turns into him flicking his tongue against her skin, eliciting a moan from her.

"Fitz…" But she doesn't move away from him, instead she grasps him tighter as his lips crawl up to her neck. He softly nips at her neck with every kiss, loving the way that her body reacts as she tilts her head, exposing her neck to him even more. He takes his time caressing his way up to her jawline, pausing briefly at the edge of her mouth before softly attacking her lips. She hesitates for a few seconds before fully giving into him and kissing him back fiercely as their tongues fight for dominance. She moans in his mouth as she wraps her arms tightly around his neck and he backs her up against his car door, pushing their bodies together.

He feels his junk rapidly growing by the second and knows that if he doesn't stop now, he'll take her right where they stand. They pull apart but stay forehead to forehead, out of breath. He stares into her beautiful brown doe eyes and in the midst of their panting he whispers to her, "I love you."

He doesn't know why he said it but those three words conveyed everything he was feeling in this moment and he wouldn't take them back because he knew in his heart that they were true. He loved her. But he doesn't get the reaction he expected. She stares at him for a long moment and then forcefully shoves him away.

She stumbles away from him until there's a considerable amount of distance between them, flooding his body with the coldness of the night air. She looks at him with angry eyes as tears stream down her face and she yells, "You can't tell me that! How dare you tell me that? I hate you."

He opens his mouth dumfounded and not knowing what to say as she continues, "How can you say that when you're the one that pushed me away."

"Liv, you know that I had no other choice," he tries to say.

"Yes, you did, you could've made it work between us. You didn't even try, you just cut us off like we were nothing."

"It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I did it to protect both you and me."

She shakes her head, backing away from him. "Screw that, if you really wanted to you would've made it work. You don't know how much I need…" she stops herself and says sternly amidst her crying, "You don't love me—you're just like me in a pretty dress and because I gave you some lip action, but that's it. We're done. Just leave me alone."

She scurries back to the school, leaving Fitz even lonelier and more upset than before. This was supposed to be a special night for her and he had ruined it by going too far. He angrily kicks his tire and curses at the physical and emotional pain he's feeling. He then gets in his car, ready to head to the nearest bar.

* * *

><p>Olivia had done her best to clean up the mascara on her face, though she was sure someone would notice if they looked clearly, which is why she was thankful for the darkness as Kenny drove her back to her house. When they arrive, he walks her to her door but doesn't say goodnight just yet.<p>

"Did I do something wrong?" he asks with a wary look on his face.

"What? No," she says trying to covering up her hoarse voice as she forces a smile.

"You still seem kind of sad, though. I was hoping that me taking you to homecoming would cheer you up but…"

"I'm fine, Kenny. And I loved tonight. You didn't do anything wrong, I'm just going through some stuff…Mother Nature stuff," she lies.

"Oh…" he says, catching on from their conversation about a week ago. "But you enjoyed tonight?"

"It was the best. Thanks," she says, giving him a shaky smile.

"Well, I'm glad, then. Anything for you to put that smile on your face," he says with a big grin. "Goodnight." He hesitates before he lays a soft kiss on her cheek and then heads back to his car.

Olivia quietly sneaks into the house, hearing her father and Becca laughing in the kitchen. She knew they'd want to hear all about her night but at this point Olivia was just trying to keep all her emotions in and not break out in tears again, like she knew she would if she even started talking about the night. She just wanted to go to bed and forget about the last part of her night. She quickly sneaks upstairs and heads to her room.

**I put a lot in that chapter, whoo! I'm sorry for any errors, I'll edit this properly tomorrow but I need to get some sleep now. Leave your thoughts on Fitz, Liv, Olitz, Mellie (lol), Kenny, and any other topics. Thanks for reading!**


	11. I Will Always Love You

**There's going to be a tiny time jump here and a few things will be different which you'll see. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11: I Will Always Love You**

It had been a month since the dance and a lot had changed. She was now legally an adult, something she had been looking forward to for the longest time but now that she was eighteen, nothing really felt special or grand about it—just another year. Another thing was that she and Kenny were now a couple. She had accepted that she and Fitz were done and now she wanted to move on with her life and have fun in her last year of high school so she decided to give Kenny a shot. Things were pretty good with him. He was a dream. He treated her like a princess, he was sweet, affectionate, caring, and his feelings for her seemed to grow stronger and stronger every day. Everyone said that they made a good couple but while she liked being with him, she didn't think that she felt the same way about him as normal people did with their significant others. She never wanted to know what he was doing when they were apart or wondered if he was thinking about her or immensely looked forward to seeing him. She liked his company but she wasn't head over heels for him, not like she had been with Fitz…but she and Kenny had only been dating for a month and over time maybe her feelings for him would grow.

They were currently sitting together on the benches in their swimwear at a meet, waiting for their divisions to start.

"So, do you want to get a bite to eat with the team after this or do you want to go to my house? My parents really want to see you again. They love you, even after what they found…" he says, tightly gripping both ends of the towel slung around his neck. Olivia had celebrated her birthday that past Friday night with her friends and family but after it ended, Kenny told her that he had a surprise for her at his house. His parents had been out of town for the past week on some archaeological trip in Africa so it would just be them. He cooked a nice dinner for them and afterwards they watched a movie but one but a simple kiss on the lips quickly led to the shedding of each other's clothes and before they knew it, they had done the deed for the first time together.

Kenny used a condom but he either forgot about or lost the pack so a few days later when his parents returned from their trip, Kenny's mom was cleaning around the house and found it. She confronted him about it but he didn't really get into any real trouble.

"What even happened after they found out?" She asks him. She had dreaded even facing his parents again after the whole incident because she didn't know what to expect. She really liked them and she was sick and tired of so many adults being disappointed in her, but according to Kenny, she was still in their good graces.

He shrugs. "Not much really. She was really surprised, I think mostly because she didn't expect me to be this serious about us to take things to that level but she ultimately told me that she's glad we used protection and that you're a nice girl and I should hold on to you, which I intend to do," he says with a smile as he places his hand over hers on her left thigh but slightly slips his fingers into the space between both thighs.

"Kenny…"

"Sorry," he says grudgingly, pulling his hand back. "We're in public. I know."

She smiles apologetically at him and then rests her head against his shoulder. The main problem wasn't that they were in public but that she didn't feel right about him touching her that way. She didn't know what her problem was since he was her boyfriend and they had now gone all the way, but ever since that night she had been growing increasingly more awkward with him, almost to the point where a simple kiss made her uncomfortable. Instead of pleasure, she was beginning to feel like being with him was committing some kind of sin. She enjoyed him but she always got a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that wouldn't leave her alone, and she knew it had to do with her unresolved feelings with Fitz. She had felt extreme animosity towards him the first few days after their argument, if you could call it that, but as the month went by she found herself craving for things to be okay between them once again, even if they couldn't be friends. Before he had cut their friendship off, she had had hope that once she was eighteen they could be together but the time had finally come and they weren't anything close to being at that point. He had told her that he loved her but what did he expect her to do with that? He's the one that severed their relationship so it wasn't fair for him to play with her emotions like this. He had ultimately made his choice and now they both just needed to deal with it and move on.

"Liv, you're up," Kenny says, pulling her out of her thoughts as she looks up and sees their coach earnestly waving at her to stop daydreaming and get her ass over to the pool.

"Lightning speed," Kenny tells her, squeezing her hand once and then letting her go.

"Lightning speed," she mutters to herself as she slips on her googles and steps onto the starting platform, thankful that she'll get to swim some of her frustrations out and certain that she'll win first place.

* * *

><p>Fitz is walking down the hall, texting Harrison something when he slams into someone and the binder in his hands flies to the ground, spilling papers everywhere.<p>

"Oh, I'm sorry, sometimes I can be a bit of a klutz," says the man Fitz bumped into with a short laugh as he bends down and starts collecting the papers. Fitz kneels beside him, putting his phone in his pocket and picking up the binder. He looks up to see Olivia's father and wonders what he's doing there.

"It's no problem, Mr. Pope," Fitz says, as they gather the last of his papers.

Eli stares at him for a long while before saying, "I can see that you're a teacher here but I don't think we've me before."

Fitz figures he's probably wondering how he knows his name. Fitz shakes his hand. "Mr. Grant, but you can call me 'Fitz' if you like. I'm Olivia and Simon's English teacher."

"Oh, yes, Mr. Grant. They've mentioned you before. In fact, Olivia in particular seems to be doing better in your class, I've actually never seen her grades so high…they're even higher than Simon's and that's saying something because he's the family genius," Eli says with a chuckle. "She seems to very much enjoy your class."

Fitz smiles politely and says, "Well, they're both a pleasure to have."

"Is that right? I've gotten a few complaints from teachers in past years because my daughter seems to have a bit of a smart mouth…that's an understatement, really."

Fitz smiles slightly at this, knowing it's true. "Hmm, I haven't had any trouble with her," Fitz says, when in fact their trouble went far beyond the walls of a classroom.

"Maybe she has some kind of special respect for you. I can see that you are one of the younger teachers at this school so maybe she relates more to you." He pauses briefly with a hesitant expression on his face. "An idea just occurred to me. Would you mind helping her out?"

Fitz furrows his eyebrows in confusion and slight apprehension. "Help her out how?"

"I'm just very concerned about what will happen to her once she graduates. She's not focused on school or anything having to do with her future but I think she has the potential. I just don't know how to get through to her. She's been this hard head ever since her mom and I divorced some years back and I can't help her but I was thinking maybe you could. I know that you're not a therapist and I'm not trying to make you one or waste your time but I was thinking you could help her with the whole getting ready for college process. Just an hour or so after school a couple days a week."

Fitz knew she would never agree to that and he wasn't sure that he'd be able to handle spending that much time alone with her, especially after how they left things a month ago. He could still hardly look at her or address her as he taught so he didn't know how they would make it through a one-on-one. "I don't know, sir…"

"I'll pay you for your time. Think of it as a tutoring session," he rushes to say. "Please?" He tries with a pleading expression and even though Fitz hates to admit it, the look in Eli's eyes is very similar Olivia's. Her eyes alone had the power to bring him to his knees and even though Eli's gaze isn't as powerful, Fitz still can't find it within him to say no.

He sighs defeated. "You don't need to pay me. I'd be glad to do it for free."

Eli raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

Fitz nods with a tight smile.

"Thank you very much, Fitz. I'll email you to set up a schedule. Right now I have to head over to Olivia's swim meet, I'm already running kind of late," Eli says, shaking his hands again with Fitz. "Thanks again."

"No problem, Mr. Pope."

* * *

><p>"Don't you feel like you have enough of those?" Kenny asks playfully, referring to the three first place ribbons Olivia just won in her divisions as they walk away from the locker rooms together.<p>

She smirks. "No, you never really get tired of winning. Though, second and third best isn't too shabby," she taunts at his 1st and 2nd runner up ribbons.

"I love it when you're a smart ass," he says with a mischievous smile as he slides his hand down to the small of her back.

She stops walking and turns to face him, stopping him before he could go any further. She was doing it again—feeling guilty.

"What?" He says with a genuine expression of concern.

She stares at him for a long hard moment before shaking her head dismissively. "Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

She nods and fakes a smile. "Yeah…sorry."

He smiles back as he cups her face and lays a smooth kiss on her lips. She has the same inner urge to pull away but she doesn't, mostly because he would know that something is definitely wrong, but also because she was tired of feeling bad for doing nothing wrong. She needed to let go and get on with her life.

She grips the back of his neck, beginning to deepen the kiss when she hears an "ahem". Both she and Kenny quickly break apart and look up to see Fitz glaring at them, with his arms crossed over his chest in a seemingly calm manner but his balled fists were an indicator of something otherwise.

She looks away from his hard stare, both embarrassed and angry that _he_ of all people caught them. "No PDA on campus. If I catch you again, I'll be forced to write you both pink slips," Fitz says matter-of-factly.

She nods and grabs Kenny's hand so that they can get out of there before she says something stupid and gets them in more trouble, but Kenny wasn't ready to back down. "Well, technically our display of affection wasn't public since there's no one else around but us," Kenny points out in that take-everything-literally way of his.

"I'm here," Fitz says simply.

"But 'public' by definition means 'open to all persons' or 'relating to a community as a whole'. You're just one person."

"Yes, and, I'm counting myself as part of all persons and the whole, so _technically_ your display of affection was indeed public."

Olivia feels like screaming in frustration and laughing at how ridiculous this was. Were they really having a serious conversation about the definition of public? Why did Fitz have to be such an asshole sometimes? It frustrated her and captivated her because she couldn't help but notice how sexy he was when he was angry or jealous in the least.

"That doesn't make any sense," Kenny says, not backing down. Olivia rolls her eyes, knowing that Fitz isn't going to give up easily either.

"It doesn't matter. We're sorry, we won't do it again, and we're leaving now," she says, dragging Kenny away without another look towards Fitz.

But this feud between the two of them continued in a different form the next day.

As Kenny gives his author's presentation in class the next day, Fitz won't give him a break.

"So, Charles Dickens got his first big break when he was the first editor of a magazine called Bentley's Miscellany."

"And when was that?" Fitz asks from the back of the classroom.

Kenny looks down. "Um, I don't know…"

"1836. Get your facts straight. Continue," Fitz tells him evenly.

Kenny furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "Okay…anyway, it was then that he published his first novel, Oliver Twist."

"And what was it about?"

Kenny shrugs. "Mmm, something about an orphan boy."

"Yes, and why did Dickens write it?"

Kenny shakes his head and Olivia can see that he's starting to get frustrated. "I don't know."

"It was inspired how he felt as an impoverished child who was forced to get by on his wits and earn his own wages. Did you not care enough about this assignment and ultimately your grade to properly prepare?"

"No," Kenny answers softly. "I wasn't aware that I had to know that."

"You may continue. I hope the rest of your presentation isn't as disappointing as it's been so far," Fitz tells him.

There are a several snickers heard around the room and Olivia can see Abby trying not to laugh but all Olivia does is glare at Fitz, wondering when he's going to get over himself and stop abusing his authority to get at both her and Kenny.

By the end of swim practice, Kenny is still upset over the whole ordeal. "I don't get why he hates me so much. He didn't ask anyone else those questions but he's been taking stabs at me for about a month now. What did I do wrong?"

"I don't know…" is all Olivia says in response. She was busy dreading the hour she would have to spend with Fitz talking about college. Of course she had tried to get out of it, but after a blowout fight with her father and a number of ultimatums made by him, she had reluctantly agreed.

"Hopefully he doesn't chew you out, too. It stinks that your dad is making you do this." He looks around in the empty hallway before, laying a kiss on her nose. "Just being careful. I wouldn't want to get a pink slip from Mr. Grinch."

She smiles deviously as she says, "I dare you to call him that during class."

"I'd probably get expelled if I did. Call you tonight?" He asks.

She nods and they go their separate ways.

* * *

><p>"Olivia," Fitz greets from his desk as she walks into the classroom, looking like she rather be anywhere else which was probably the case.<p>

"Mr. Grant," she mumbles, taking a seat on the chair in front of his desk. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks away from him with her mouth in a straight line. She was angry that she had to be there with him but he couldn't help but think about how adorable she looked when she was pissed.

"Are you upset about something?" He asks with some sarcasm in his voice.

She narrows her eyes at him and then smirks. "I could ask you the same thing."

He raises her eyebrows at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugs as she says, "I don't know…you just seemed a little crabby earlier when Kenny was giving his presentation…and yesterday."

He can see that she's trying to play his own joke back on him but he's not going to let her get to him. "Well, maybe he should've been more prepared for his presentation, and as for yesterday, I have nothing to say."

She rolls her eyes and slouches more in her chair.

"So, let's start with your test scores. What'd you get on your SAT or ACT?"

Olivia sighs. "2270 on SAT."

Fitz raises his eyebrows. "That's not something to be ashamed of. That's actually a ridiculously good score."

She shrugs.

"So, you don't have to worry about test scores. You're the captain of the swim team, which is very good, you're at least taking one AP class, which qualifies you for some of the Ivy Leagues, you also have some work experience with your job at B&N, which colleges also like to see. How about your community service?"

"It's average."

He nods. "Okay. Well, the main problem here seems to be your grades. A 3.0 GPA isn't extremely bad but it isn't great either. You shouldn't be a B student since you're pretty smart as seen with your test score and you're almost perfect grade in my class, so I'm curious as to why you're grades are so low."

"I don't know, Fitz—I mean, _Mr. Grant_," she corrects mockingly.

"We're not in class, you can call me 'Fitz' if you want," he offers, hating the whole Mr. Grant thing because it felt so superficial, especially out of her mouth.

"No, I can't. That would be inappropriate and God forbid anything in appropriate happen between us…" she says

He sighs, knowing that they wouldn't get anything done if they continued to beat around the bush. "Look, Liv, I'm really sorry about that night. I didn't mean to ruin anything for you or hurt your feelings…I don't know what was up with me."

"It's not about that night," she mumbles.

"Then what is it about? Let me know so that we can fix this somehow. I hate how things have become between us…"

"You said yourself that this is how you wanted things to be."

"I didn't plan for you to hate me," he tells her, seeing how much of a mess he's made.

He's surprised when her cold stare turns into a sympathetic expression. "I don't hate you, Fitz…I'm sorry I said that," she admits, looking genuinely sorry.

"It's just that this whole situation is so frustrating," she says, burying her face in her hands. "How did we get here?"

"I don't know…" Fitz tells her, but he does. He pushed her away, he cut them off and then he tried to reel her back in by telling her that he loved her, which wasn't fair of him to do, but it was the truth. He loved her and he would always love her.

"Nice bracelet," he tells her, gesturing to pearly silver chain around her wrist.

She gives him that sweet smile that has the power to make him weak at the knees. "Thanks. My dad gave it to me for my birthday."

"Well, Happy belated Birthday," he tells her, thinking in the back of his mind that they could now be together, but he pushes the thought aside.

"Thanks." She meets his gaze and sees the longing in them that he's felt ever since he first laid eyes on her. She did love him. He knows in this moment that they still have a chance and that they'll always have a chance because their love for each other would never go away. They were forever bonded to each other.

Present—2026

Olivia spent the past hour thinking about what he had written. Did he really mean that or was it part of the fiction? He hadn't made a move to reach out to her since their last encounter, but she doesn't see why he would since it hadn't been exactly pleasant. She knew that deep down she would always have love for him but so much had happened between them and he probably wouldn't want anything to do with her once he discovered what she considered her biggest secret. Though, it was only a matter of time before he did.

**I hope you enjoyed NCF which stands for No Chill Fitz lol. He would not give Kenny a break! But there will be more NCF to come so be prepared. So, Liv is now legally an adult and Fitz knows it. Do you think that he'll still be able to hold back from making a move on her? What do you think of Fitz helping Liv with college stuff and her future? Do you think this will lead to something else? What will Liv do about Kenny? What do you think Present Liv's secret is? Other thoughts? Thanks for reading!**


End file.
